TORFLOAT: A new floating platform concept for future large-scale offshore wind turbines: Conceptual design, parametric optimization, and material sensitivity

This study presents the conceptual design and parametric optimization of a novel toroidal floating platform, TORFLOAT, for large offshore wind turbines. A systematic design framework was developed to evaluate the influence of four primary geometric variables, D o , D i , t , and H r on displacement capacity, structural mass, and hydrostatic stability for 10 MW and 15 MW wind turbine systems. The design space was explored using Latin Hypercube Sampling, generating 10,000 candidate configurations for the 10 MW case and 12,000 candidate configurations for the 15 MW case. These designs were screened using feasibility constraints including buoyancy equilibrium, hydrostatic stability, and motion-performance limits. Multi-objective Pareto optimization was then performed with the competing objectives of minimizing structural mass and pitch response, revealing a clear trade-off between structural efficiency and rotational stability. The final optimized TORFLOAT configuration for the 10 MW turbine achieved a structural mass of 7208.00 tons, a displacement volume of 23 , 948.10 m 3 , and a pitch response of 1.58 ∘ . For the 15 MW turbine, the final optimized configuration corresponded to D o = 60.00 m , D i = 20.00 m , t = 8.00 m , and H = 7.88 m , with a structural mass of 10445.99 tons, a displacement volume of 27366 m 3 , and a pitch response of 0.91 ∘ . A material sensitivity assessment further showed that lighter floater materials can substantially reduce structural mass and displacement requirements, although the structural steel case defines the finalized 15 MW TORFLOAT design for subsequent detailed investigations. The results demonstrate that the TORFLOAT concept provides a compact and hydrostatically efficient floating support structure capable of maintaining favorable motion stability for next-generation 10 − 15 MW offshore wind turbines, while also establishing a rational design basis for subsequent detailed hydrodynamic and structural assessment.