Experimental Study on Hydrodynamic Response Characteristics of a Novel Pontoon-Type Array Offshore Floating Photovoltaic Structure

This study presents a series of hydrodynamic experiments on a novel pontoon-type offshore floating photovoltaic (OFPV) structure, designed to improve wave attenuation performance and platform stability in marine environments. Using a 1:14 Froude-scaled physical model capable of representing different connector stiffness levels, nine structural configurations were tested, covering four array scales, three stiffness levels, and two floater sizes. Experiments were conducted under regular wave conditions, with structural responses measured at three representative positions: wave-facing front (T1), mid-array (T2), and leeward side (T3). Recorded parameters included surge acceleration, heave acceleration, pitch angle, and heave displacement. Results show that increasing array scale consistently reduced motion amplitudes at all positions, with heave acceleration at T3 substantially decreased compared with the smallest array. Enhancing connector stiffness significantly suppressed dynamic motions, particularly downstream, while larger floaters notably reduced heave responses under short-period waves. Despite variations in magnitude, response trends with respect to wave period remained broadly consistent across configurations. These findings provide quantitative evidence and engineering guidance for optimizing array configuration, connector stiffness, and floater dimensions to enhance the hydrodynamic performance and operational reliability of large-scale offshore FPV platforms.