The FLOATFARM project is driving innovation in floating offshore wind farms, aiming to develop efficient, modular, and sustainable floating wind solutions. A key challenge in these structures is ensuring the durability and safety of welded tubular joints, which are critical for the stability of floating platforms.
Thanks to the recent publication by Zhang, De Waele, and Hectors (2025) in Advances in Engineering Software, the FLOATFARM team now has access to HFJOINT, a high-fidelity numerical tool for analyzing stress concentration factors (SCFs) in welded tubular joints.
Why HFJOINT Matters for FLOATFARM
- Accurate Fatigue Assessment – Floating platforms are exposed to dynamic ocean loads, which can cause fatigue at welds. HFJOINT allows engineers to predict these stress concentrations with unprecedented accuracy.
- Optimized Design – With better SCF data, designers can refine joint geometries to enhance safety and extend the service life of structures.
- Efficient Modeling – HFJOINT reduces computational costs while maintaining high precision, accelerating the design process for large-scale floating wind platforms.
Impact on FLOATFARM
Integrating HFJOINT into FLOATFARM’s engineering workflow means more reliable structural designs, supporting the project’s goal of creating safe, durable, and cost-effective floating wind farms. This work represents a major step forward in applying cutting-edge numerical methods to real-world offshore renewable energy projects.
