Investigation of the effect of spacing between two floating solar platforms on the response amplitude operator under sea waves

Emami, Arefeh; Farhoodi, Sima; Pourjafari, Neda

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Volume 21, Issue 48 (12-2025) marineeng 2025, 21(48): 121-134 | Back to browse issues page

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Emami A, Farhoodi S, Pourjafari N. Investigation of the effect of spacing between two floating solar platforms on the response amplitude operator under sea waves. marineeng 2025; 21 (48) :121-134
URL: http://marine-eng.ir/article-1-1245-en.html

Investigation of the effect of spacing between two floating solar platforms on the response amplitude operator under sea waves

Arefeh Emami ^*¹

, Sima Farhoodi²

, Neda Pourjafari³

1- Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Hormozgan
2- M.Sc. Student, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Hormozgan
3- Department of Engineering Sciences, Faculty of Engineering Sciences, Technical and Vocational University (TVU), Tehran, Iran

Abstract: (421 Views)

This study investigates the effect of the spacing between two floating solar platforms on their hydrodynamic behavior under wave excitation. Numerical modeling was conducted using the boundary element software ANSYS AQWA. Following validation of a single-platform model, an arrangement comprising two floating solar platforms equipped with a mooring system was analyzed. The platforms were positioned 13 m and 18 m apart and connected via a ball joint. Hydrodynamic analyses were performed in the frequency domain under nonlinear regular waves with varying heights and headings. The Response Amplitude Operator for each platform was evaluated across six degrees of freedom. The results indicate that, in surge and sway motions, increasing the distance leads to a noticeable shift in the resonance frequencies: at 13 m, the main peaks occur in the range of 0.013–0.015 rad/s, while at 18 m, they shift to 0.015–0.018 rad/s — reflecting an increase in hydrodynamic stiffness and a reduction in coupling effects. In heave motion, although the natural frequency (approximately 1.3 rad/s) remained nearly unchanged, the response amplitude increased at the larger spacing, suggesting reduced hydrodynamic interference between the platforms. In roll and pitch motions, the dominant peaks appear in the range of 1–2 rad/s, and increasing the spacing results in clearer mode separation and more pronounced peaks. For yaw motion, the primary peaks occur at very low frequencies (0.01–0.04 rad/s) for both distances, with spacing affecting the peak magnitudes more significantly than their positions. Overall, the findings demonstrate that the separation distance between floating solar platforms plays a crucial role in governing the degree of hydrodynamic interaction and the system's dynamic response in marine environments.

Keywords: Floating solar platform, Spacing between platforms, Response amplitude operator, Boundary element method, AQWA

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Type of Study: Research Paper | Subject: Offshore Hydrodynamic
Received: 2026/02/9 | Accepted: 2026/05/11

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