Dynamic Responses of an Offshore Floating Photovoltaic Array Under Wind and Wave Conditions

To clarify the relationship between offshore floating photovoltaic (FPV) platform motions and mooring loads under combined wind and wave conditions, a numerical model based on three-dimensional potential flow theory was established to study the dynamic responses of a 4 × 4 offshore FPV array. Time-domain statistics and spectral analysis show that higher wind speed increases the mean surge offset. As wind speed rises from 10 to 15 m/s, the maximum and standard deviation (STD) of mooring line tension increase by 59.4% and 117.8%, respectively, while the low-frequency surge response weakens. Higher turbulence intensity increases the low-frequency peaks in the surge and mooring line tension spectra. As the spectral peak period increases, the heave and pitch spectral peaks shift toward lower frequencies. The wave-frequency surge response also becomes more pronounced. Higher significant wave heights amplify heave and pitch motions and mooring line tension, while weakening the low-frequency surge response. Across all cases, the end platforms have larger heave ranges; as surge displacement increases in the wave propagation direction, the wave-facing platform descends slightly and the wave-sheltered platform rises.