Method for early analysis of the umbilical cable in a floating offshore wind turbine

The expansion of floating offshore wind energy brings the industry closer to achieving commercial viability. However, the challenging marine environment—characterized by strong winds, waves, and currents—combined with the growing size of wind turbines and the dynamic behavior of floaters, raises concerns about power production efficiency and system durability due to increased loads. A critical component within floating wind platforms is the umbilical cable, responsible for transmitting generated energy. Any failure in this cable would result in the shutdown of, at least, the associated wind turbine, emphasizing the need for precise and early design. This work introduces a novel method based on catenary models, leveraging known boundary conditions to reduce computational effort and improve design accuracy. By comparing the proposed approach with an industry-standard method, the research aims to provide insights into the umbilical cable design.