Comparative Study on Effect of Buoys for Floating Sunlight Generation System with Numerous Buoys and Connection Beams

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the effect of buoys on the response of a floating sunlight generation system. The floating structure comprises a large number of buoys linked by connection beams. We compared the responses of the structure by utilizing different buoy sizes. Wave forces on the buoys were calculated by employing the higher-order boundary element method. To evaluate the effects of the buoys, we compared the amplitudes and the distribution of wave forces acting on the structure for different scenarios. Stresses on the connection beams were analyzed in terms of both frequency and time domains, based on the results of wave load analyses. Connection beams were analyzed by the finite element method analysis. Through the analyses, we observed that the buoy size could reduce the stresses on the connection beam of the floating structure. To reduce this stress further, we proposed a floating breakwater and discussed the implications of such a method.