This paper investigates the dynamic response of a fully nonlinear model of a DeepCWind floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) after one of its three-catenary mooring systems is broken. The drift area of the platform, pitch motion of the wind turbine, and tension on the two ends of the mooring line are the main dynamic response foci; in addition, a single mathematical formula is provided in this study to predict the maximum drift in surge direction. After the platform reaches the new equilibrium position maintained by the remaining two mooring lines, the tower pitch exceeds 20 degrees. The tension change is closely related to the drift motion, necessitating an increase in the minimum breaking load (MBL) of the mooring line components. The mathematical forecast of the maximum surge shows good agreement with the numerical results, even with different water depths

The aim of this paper is to establish a simple approach to experimentally study the mooring line damping in shallow water, where snap loading may occur more frequently. Experimental measurements were conducted in a wave basin at a scale of 1:50, which corresponds to a full scale of 28 m water depth. A chain made by stainless steel was used, and the tension force at the fairlead was measured by tension gages. Moreover, the line geometry, touchdown point speed, and mooring line velocity were derived from image processing techniques. Surge motions at fairlead were driven from a programmable wavemaker. Regular surge motions with different frequencies and pretensions were tested in this system in order to investigate the quasi-static and dynamic behaviors of the mooring chain. In the quasi-static test, the mooring line keeps a typical catenary shape, and its indicator diagram exhibits a smooth-closed curve. In the dynamic test, the mooring line is fully lifted from the seabed, and it cyclically goes through the stage of semitaut and fully taut. We successfully reproduced a snap event in the laboratory scale, and the resulting mooring line damping can considerably increase in this manner. Two criteria for snap event were examined, and both of them were verified by the experiments.

In this paper, the commercial software Orcaflex is used to simulate the motion behavior of the OC4 floating platform, and the floater stability and mooring line tension after the mooring system failure. In the time domain analysis, the discussion is divided into three phases—the first phase (before the tether failure), the second phase (before the tether failure, before reaching the new steady-state), and the third phase (after reaching the new steady-state). The motion characteristics and tension values at different stages were observed. In this study, only a 50-year return period wave condition is used as an input condition and simulating 11 different incident wind and wave directions. The numerical results are presented in the trajectory map and the table. About the tension of the mooring line, after the mooring system fails, it is notable that the mooring line tension will first decrease and then increase slightly above the initial tension value. In other words, the mooring system may survive after the failure of one mooring line and got a new balance of it. However, the tension amplitude will be higher than the first stage in the new balance and it will likely increase the risk of mooring line fatigue.