ABSTRACT
This study analyzes the amount of fatigue damage accumulated by polyester mooring lines in different wave parks for six heaving point absorber wave energy converters (WECs). The wave park simulation uses a coupled non-linear method that calculates the motion of the WECs and the mooring line forces simultaneously in the time domain. The amount of fatigue damage accumulated by the mooring lines is calculated using a relative tension-based fatigue analysis method. Several factors that influence the fatigue life of the mooring lines, for example, the WEC distance of the wave park, the sea state conditions, and the direction of incoming waves, are discussed in detail.
