Review of offshore winch drive topologies and control methods

Winch systems have a critical role in offshore operations as they are widely used in various applications. Hydraulic drives have been preferred for these systems, though currently, there is an increasing trend to replace them with fully electrical systems, mainly due to the higher energy efficiency they offer. However, hydraulic winch drives have several characteristics, such as robustness and the ability to produce large torques for their size, which are attractive to the offshore industry. This paper provides an analytical review of offshore winch drive topologies and their corresponding control techniques. Based on the reviewed articles, some literature gaps are identified, and several suggestions for future research are given.