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Breakthrough Research in Marine Structures
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Breakthrough Research in Marine Structures

A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Ocean Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 August 2026 | Viewed by 2324

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Xiaosen Xu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Marine Equipment and Technology Institute, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, China
Interests: floating wind turbines; wind farm wake effects; extreme value analysis; hydrodynamics of offshore structures
Prof. Dr. Shuaishuai Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
Interests: offshore renewable energy; floating wind turbine; design and analysis of marine structures; wind turbine mechanical system; numerical and experimental approaches; structural mechanics and dynamics; stochastic, uncertainty and reliability analysis; construction, operation, and maintenance; artificial intelligence for offshore wind energy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on advancing the scientific and technological frontiers of marine structures, encompassing fixed and floating installations critical for offshore energy, transportation, and infrastructure. These structures operate in complex and harsh ocean environments, facing significant challenges related to design integrity, safety, and long-term performance under multi-physical loads.

We invite high-quality contributions addressing key scientific and engineering challenges across the full lifecycle of marine structures. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Innovative design and analysis methodologies for offshore platforms, terminals, and subsea systems;
  • Structural dynamics, fluid–structure interaction, and coupled load analysis;
  • Advanced numerical simulation, experimental testing, and hybrid verification methods;
  • Novel materials, corrosion protection, and long-term durability assessment;
  • Structural health monitoring, risk assessment, lifecycle management, and extension strategies.

Emerging topics such as intelligent control, condition monitoring, digital twin frameworks, data-driven and physics-informed modeling, as well as new materials and novel structural concepts for marine structures are also strongly encouraged. Overall, this Special Issue aims to bridge the gap between theory and engineering practice, foster interdisciplinary collaboration across aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, structural and mechanical engineering, and offshore operations, and promote innovative solutions that enhance the efficiency, reliability, and sustainability of marine structures.

We warmly invite researchers and engineers from academia and industry to submit original research articles, case studies, and review papers. Submissions should emphasize novel methodologies, experimental validation, and practical applications, and are encouraged to integrate numerical simulation, machine learning, and field measurements to collectively advance research on marine structures.

Dr. Xiaosen Xu
Prof. Dr. Shuaishuai Wang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • marine structures
  • offshore platforms
  • floating wind farms
  • structural dynamics
  • multi-physics and multi-scale modeling
  • mooring and anchoring systems
  • lifecycle design and operation
  • digital twin
  • reliability assessment

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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26 pages, 3745 KB  
Article
A Time-Domain Methodology for Nominal Stress-Based Fatigue Assessment of Semi-Submersible Floating Wind Turbine Hulls at Different Offshore Sites
by Shan Gao, Shuaishuai Wang, Torgeir Moan and Zhen Gao
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(8), 692; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14080692 - 8 Apr 2026
Viewed by 374
Abstract
This paper deals with a time-domain methodology for nominal stress-based, screening-level fatigue assessment of semi-submersible FWT hulls, using a 10-MW semi-submersible FWT as a case study. A comprehensive procedure is outlined for both short- and long-term fatigue analysis, emphasizing the influence of wind [...] Read more.
This paper deals with a time-domain methodology for nominal stress-based, screening-level fatigue assessment of semi-submersible FWT hulls, using a 10-MW semi-submersible FWT as a case study. A comprehensive procedure is outlined for both short- and long-term fatigue analysis, emphasizing the influence of wind and wave loads, as well as the probability distributions of environmental conditions. A fully coupled dynamic analysis of the FWT, employing a multibody floater, is conducted to compute internal global loads and time-domain nominal stresses on the hull structure. Short-term fatigue damage is evaluated across various wind-wave directions, environmental conditions, and random wind and wave samples, identifying critical loading scenarios. For long-term assessment, 10,182 one-hour time-domain simulations are conducted across three wind-wave directions for five offshore sites in the North Sea and one site in the China Sea. Fatigue damage at different locations of the hull structure is estimated for each offshore site, with results discussed in the context of screening-level nominal fatigue assessment and identification of fatigue-critical regions. The insights gained from this study form a basis for validating simplified and computationally efficient fatigue analysis procedures in an accompanying paper. Additionally, the findings support the design optimization of hull structures. Limitations of the present study are identified, pointing to future research directions aimed at mitigating fatigue risks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Breakthrough Research in Marine Structures)
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41 pages, 11015 KB  
Article
Design and Parametric Sensitivity Analysis of a Steel-Concrete Hybrid Semi-Submersible Foundation Supporting a 15 MW Wind Turbine
by Wenwen Hu, Ling Wan, Shuai Li, Shuaibing Zhang, Yang Yang, Jungang Hao and Yajun Ren
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(7), 669; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14070669 - 2 Apr 2026
Viewed by 444
Abstract
With the rapidly growing global demand for clean energy, offshore wind power has become an important renewable energy source. To clarify how the principal dimensions affect the performance of a 15 MW-class floating wind turbine platform in 100 m water depth, this paper [...] Read more.
With the rapidly growing global demand for clean energy, offshore wind power has become an important renewable energy source. To clarify how the principal dimensions affect the performance of a 15 MW-class floating wind turbine platform in 100 m water depth, this paper proposes a steel-concrete hybrid semi-submersible platform and systematically performs a parametric sensitivity analysis. The platform adopts a three-column configuration with heave tanks. The upper columns and cross braces are made of steel, while the lower hexagonal columns, pontoons, and heave tanks are constructed from concrete, significantly reducing steel consumption while satisfying structural and stability requirements. Focusing on three key design variables—draft, column spacing, and column diameter—this study establishes a unified normalized sensitivity analysis framework. It quantitatively evaluates their influence on platform mass, intact stability, natural periods, and fully coupled dynamic responses (including surge, heave, pitch motions, and mooring line tensions) under both operational and extreme conditions. The results reveal distinct roles of the principal dimensions in governing the platform dynamics: column spacing is the most sensitive parameter for tuning pitch response, restoring stiffness, and stability; increasing draft effectively suppresses heave and pitch responses but has only a limited effect on low-frequency surge motions; and column diameter strongly affects the natural periods of heave and pitch. Notably, dynamic responses exhibit significant nonlinear characteristics with variations in column diameter. When the diameter exceeds 110–120% of the baseline value, the peak pitch response under extreme sea states shows a deteriorating inflection point, accompanied by an accelerated surge in peak mooring loads. This indicates that excessive increases in column diameter may cause wave excitation forces to become dominant, thereby compromising the overall dynamic safety of the system. This paper identifies the governing geometric parameters for different motion modes and their control boundaries, providing a quantifiable and generalizable basis for the multi-objective collaborative design and cost reduction optimization of 15 MW steel-concrete hybrid semi-submersible floating wind turbine platforms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Breakthrough Research in Marine Structures)
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34 pages, 7008 KB  
Article
Development of a TimesNet–NLinear Framework Based on Seasonal-Trend Decomposition Using LOESS for Short-Term Motion Response of Floating Offshore Wind Turbines
by Xinheng Zhang, Yao Cheng, Peng Dou, Yihan Xing, Renwei Ji, Pei Zhang, Puyi Yang, Xiaosen Xu and Shuaishuai Wang
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(6), 571; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14060571 - 19 Mar 2026
Viewed by 465
Abstract
Floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) exhibit complex motions under marine environmental loads and frequently undergo coupled oscillations across multiple degrees of freedom (DOFs). Accurate short-term motion prediction of these responses is crucial for operational safety and maintenance. To overcome the limitations of traditional [...] Read more.
Floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) exhibit complex motions under marine environmental loads and frequently undergo coupled oscillations across multiple degrees of freedom (DOFs). Accurate short-term motion prediction of these responses is crucial for operational safety and maintenance. To overcome the limitations of traditional “black-box” models under complex aero-hydrodynamic loads, this study proposes STL–TimesNet–NLinear, a novel physics-informed deep learning framework. The framework utilizes STL decomposition to explicitly decouple motion signals: NLinear captures non-stationary low-frequency slow drifts, while TimesNet extracts multi-periodic wave-frequency responses. The model was evaluated across different platform typologies—a 5 MW semi-submersible and a larger-scale 15 MW Spar-type platform—under various typical operational and extreme environmental conditions. Model performance was evaluated using comparative and ablation experiments. At a prediction-ahead time (PAT) of 5 s, the proposed model achieves coefficients of determination (R2) exceeding 0.95. Even at longer PATs, the R2 remains above 0.90, consistently outperforming multiple benchmark models. Compared to traditional recurrent neural networks (e.g., LSTM), it decreases the Mean Absolute Error (MAE) for pitch motion under extreme sea states by 54.7% and increases the R2 to 0.9573. Furthermore, the inference latency is only 2.4 ms per step. These findings confirm that the proposed STL–TimesNet–NLinear model provides fast and accurate solutions for the short-term motion response prediction of FOWTs, demonstrating valuable potential applications for enhancing the safety planning of offshore wind turbine operation and maintenance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Breakthrough Research in Marine Structures)
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21 pages, 4384 KB  
Article
Experimental Study on Layered Tuned Liquid Damper with an Elastic Structure
by Peng Dou, Shunshun Bian, Renwei Ji, Zhidong Wang, Renqing Zhu and Yihan Xing
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(5), 413; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14050413 - 25 Feb 2026
Viewed by 531
Abstract
Tuned liquid dampers (TLDs) are widely used in structural vibration mitigation, but they are limited by their damping frequency to use as passive damping equipment. To enhance the damping performance of the conventional TLD, a unique layered tuned liquid damper (LTLD) filled with [...] Read more.
Tuned liquid dampers (TLDs) are widely used in structural vibration mitigation, but they are limited by their damping frequency to use as passive damping equipment. To enhance the damping performance of the conventional TLD, a unique layered tuned liquid damper (LTLD) filled with water and diesel is proposed. The interfacial wave coupling mechanism for broadband energy dissipation has not been previously explored in sloshing-type dampers. A series of frequency-sweeping tests were carried out in the laboratory to compare the vibration suppression performance of the proposed LTLD against conventional TLD. The dampers were installed on an elastic supporting structural platform (SSP) with a height of one meter, and the bottom was horizontally excited with different amplitudes and frequencies using a hexapod motion simulator. The results indicate that the LTLD showed a better damping performance than the TLD under small-amplitude excitation and achieved optimization at two peaks. The separation surface movement dissipated the liquid motion’s energy and enhanced the hydrodynamic force in the horizontal direction. However, the damping effect of the LTLD weakened when the two liquids were no longer immiscible under large-amplitude excitation. Therefore, we recommend utilizing the LTLD to improve structural damping performance when dmax/L < 0.04984. In addition, the LTLD reduced the maximum wall pressure by about 25% in the transient state under large-amplitude excitation. This study presents experimental evidence that a water–diesel LTLD achieves broadband damping through interfacial wave coupling. The stable interfacial waves enhance energy dissipation and excite new vibration mitigation frequencies, offering a novel approach to overcoming the narrow-band limitation of conventional TLD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Breakthrough Research in Marine Structures)
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