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Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Unsteady aerodynamics of large-scale floating offshore wind turbines in surge motion(Elsevier, 2026-03-15); ; ; ; Unsteady aerodynamic loads significantly influence the design and wake flow field of floating offshore wind turbines, especially due to wave- or vibration-induced tower top motions triggering various unsteady phenomena. Recent studies show that increasing turbine sizes amplify unsteady aerodynamic effects, as their impact typically grows with rotor diameter. This work combines recent findings from experiments and simulations on model-scale FOWT aerodynamics with new numerical analyses of large-scale rotors, providing a comprehensive understanding of unsteady phenomena occurrence and impact. Numerical analyses of the IEA 15-MW and 22-MW rotors undergoing surge motions characterise the combined influence of motion-induced unsteady phenomena on rotor thrust. Results indicate that unsteady effects can reduce thrust force variations by up to 40% at realistic surge periods. These findings contrast with prior model-scale rotor investigations, attributed to the specialised design of the model rotors. Comparisons between numerical methods — the dynamic blade element momentum method in OpenFAST and free vortex wake modules in panMARE and OpenFAST — reveal persistent differences in thrust predictions under both idealised and realistic conditions. This highlights that classical blade element momentum approaches require enhancement to accurately capture unsteady loads on large-scale floating offshore wind turbines at low wind speeds.Publicationtype: Journal Article43 50 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Brief communication: a novel wake mixing phenomenon and key parameters for wake recovery of floating wind turbines subjected to surge motions(Copernicus Publications, 2026-02-10); ; ; This letter clarifies the key parameters governing the wake recovery of a floating wind turbine undergoing surge motions. A dedicated wind tunnel campaign covering reduced frequencies (Stp) well beyond the current literature is presented. This enabled a full characterisation of the wake recovery and the discovery of a previously unreported wake mixing phenomenon. We highlight three main findings: (i) enhanced wake recovery of the surging turbine is highly sensitive to thrust, (ii) wake recovery is characterised by the ratio of motion velocity amplitude to wind speed and Stp, and (iii) a previously unreported flow phenomenon improves wake recovery when the motion frequency is slightly lower than the blade passing frequency.Publicationtype: Journal Article40 3 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Low-uncertainty wave tank testing and validation of numerical methods for floating offshore wind turbines(Copernicus Publications, 2024-10-16); ; ; Accurate simulation of the loads and motions of floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) in operation is key to the commercialisation of this technology. To improve such load predictions, a critical assessment of the capabilities and limitations of simulation methods for FOWTs is mandatory. However, uncertainties arise during the whole validation process of a numerical method. These can drastically impair the quality of the validation. In the case of FOWTs, the interaction between aerodynamic, hydrodynamic and mooring loads on the one hand and platform motions on the other hand causes a high level of uncertainty in the measurement data acquired in model tests. This also applies to comparing a numerical model to the test data, as these interactions make the distinction between cause and effect challenging. To address these challenges, several improvements to the validation process aiming to reduce the uncertainties are proposed and evaluated in this work. The major improvements are the measurement of the rotor thrust force excluding the tower top inertia loads, the wind field quality in the wave tank, a comparison of the rotor aerodynamics in the wind tunnel and wave tank, and the utilisation of hybrid simulations based on the measured platform motions. These steps are applied to wave tank tests of a FOWT utilising a single-point mooring and the subsequent validation of the numerical panel method pan MARE. The improvements allowed for a considerable decrease in the random and systematic uncertainty in the model tests and made a valuable contribution to the distinction between cause and effect regarding the deviations between measurements and simulations.Publicationtype: Journal Article53 220 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Near-wake measurements and simulations of a floating wind turbine using a four-beam nacelle-based lidarRecent advances in lidar technology have expanded the possibilities for measuring full-scale wind turbine wakes within the atmospheric boundary layer. This study utilizes a four-beam pulsed lidar installed on the nacelle of a floating turbine to measure the near-wake. The wake measurement campaign was conducted on the Floatgen, with lidar measurements reaching up to 2.5 times the rotor diameter distance. These measurements are presented as 10-minute average radial wind speeds. The focus of this study is on the below rated wind speed of 7 m/s. Free flow conditions were assumed at the farthest measurement points, which are located ±0.9 times the rotor diameter from to the rotor center. The sensitivity of lidar measurements to turbulence intensity, vertical wind shear, and significant wave height was investigated. The environmental conditions were categorized into five cases, considering turbulence, vertical shear, and yaw misalignment as well as waves. Two simulation models with different fidelity levels are used to simulate these cases, and the beam-wise radial wind speed predictions are compared with the measurements. A maximum mean absolute error of 11.3% between the measurements and simulations is observed.Publicationtype: Conference Paper26 25 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Wind turbine rotors in surge motion : new insights into unsteady aerodynamics of floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) from experiments and simulations(Copernicus Publications, 2024-03-20); ; ; An accurate prediction of the unsteady loads acting on floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) under consideration of wave excitation is crucial for a resource-efficient turbine design. Despite a considerable number of simulation studies in this area, it is still not fully understood which unsteady aerodynamic phenomena have a notable influence on the loads acting on a wind turbine rotor in motion. In the present study, investigations are carried out to evaluate the most relevant unsteady aerodynamic phenomena for a wind turbine rotor in surge motion. As a result, inflow conditions are determined for which a significant influence of these phenomena on the rotor loads can be expected. The experimental and numerical investigations are conducted on a two-bladed wind turbine rotor subjected to a tower-top surge motion. A specialised wind tunnel test rig has been developed to measure the aerodynamic torque response of the rotor subjected to surge motions with moderate frequencies. The torque measurements are compared to two free-vortex-wake (FVW) methods, namely a panel method and a lifting-line method. Unsteady contributions that cannot be captured using quasi-steady modelling have not been detected in either the measurements or the simulations in the covered region of motions ranging from a rotor reduced frequency of 0.55 to 1.09 and with motion velocity amplitudes of up to 9 % of the wind speed. The surge motion frequencies were limited to a moderate range (5 to 10 Hz) due to vibrations occurring in the experiments. Therefore, a numerical study with an extended range of motion frequencies using the panel and the lifting-line method was performed. The results from both FVW methods reveal significant unsteady contributions of the surge motions to the torque and thrust response that have not been reported in the recent literature. Furthermore, the results show the presence of the returning wake effect, which is known from helicopter aerodynamics. Additional simulations of the UNAFLOW scale model and the IEA 15 MW rotor demonstrate that the occurrence of the returning wake effect is independent from the turbine but determined by the ratio of 3P and surge motion frequency. In the case of the IEA 15 MW rotor, a notable impact of the returning wake effect was found at surge motion frequencies in the range of typical wave periods. Finally, a comparison with OpenFAST simulations reveals notable differences in the modelling of the unsteady aerodynamic behaviour in comparison to the FVW methods.Publicationtype: Journal ArticleScopus© Citations 1 47 111 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , On the characteristics of the wake of a wind turbine undergoing large motions caused by a floating structure: an insight based on experiments and multi-fidelity simulations from the OC6 project Phase III(Copernicus Publications, 2023-11-10); ; ; This study reports the results of the second round of analyses of the Offshore Code Comparison, Collaboration, Continued, with Correlation and unCertainty (OC6) project Phase III. While the first round investigated rotor aerodynamic loading, here, focus is given to the wake behavior of a floating wind turbine under large motion. Wind tunnel experimental data from the UNsteady Aerodynamics for FLOating Wind (UNAFLOW) project are compared with the results of simulations provided by participants with methods and codes of different levels of fidelity. The effect of platform motion on both the near and the far wake is investigated. More specifically, the behavior of tip vortices in the near wake is evaluated through multiple metrics, such as streamwise position, core radius, convection velocity, and circulation. Additionally, the onset of velocity oscillations in the far wake is analyzed because this can have a negative effect on stability and loading of downstream rotors. Results in the near wake for unsteady cases confirm that simulations and experiments tend to diverge from the expected linearized quasi-steady behavior when the rotor reduced frequency increases over 0.5. Additionally, differences across the simulations become significant, suggesting that further efforts are required to tune the currently available methodologies in order to correctly evaluate the aerodynamic response of a floating wind turbine in unsteady conditions. Regarding the far wake, it is seen that, in some conditions, numerical methods overpredict the impact of platform motion on the velocity fluctuations. Moreover, results suggest that the effect of platform motion on the far wake, differently from original expectations about a faster wake recovery in a floating wind turbine, seems to be limited or even oriented to the generation of a wake less prone to dissipation.Publicationtype: Journal ArticleScopus© Citations 4 23 55 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , OC6 project Phase III: validation of the aerodynamic loading on a wind turbine rotor undergoing large motion caused by a floating support structure(Copernicus Publications, 2023-04-06); ; ; ; This paper provides a summary of the work done within Phase III of the Offshore Code Comparison Collaboration, Continued, with Correlation and unCertainty (OC6) project, under the International Energy Agency Wind Technology Collaboration Programme Task 30. This phase focused on validating the aerodynamic loading on a wind turbine rotor undergoing large motion caused by a floating support structure. Numerical models of the Technical University of Denmark 10 MW reference wind turbine were validated using measurement data from a 1:75 scale test performed during the UNsteady Aerodynamics for FLOating Wind (UNAFLOW) project and a follow-on experimental campaign, both performed at the Politecnico di Milano wind tunnel. Validation of the models was performed by comparing the loads for steady (fixed platform) and unsteady (harmonic motion of the platform) wind conditions. For the unsteady wind conditions, the platform was forced to oscillate in the surge and pitch directions under several frequencies and amplitudes. These oscillations result in a wind variation that impacts the rotor loads (e.g., thrust and torque). For the conditions studied in these tests, the system aerodynamic response was almost steady. Only a small hysteresis in airfoil performance undergoing angle of attack variations in attached flow was observed. During the experiments, the rotor speed and blade pitch angle were held constant. However, in real wind turbine operating conditions, the surge and pitch variations would result in rotor speed variations and/or blade pitch actuations, depending on the wind turbine controller region that the system is operating. Additional simulations with these control parameters were conducted to verify the fidelity of different models. Participant results showed, in general, a good agreement with the experimental measurements and the need to account for dynamic inflow when there are changes in the flow conditions due to the rotor speed variations or blade pitch actuations in response to surge and pitch motion. Numerical models not accounting for dynamic inflow effects predicted rotor loads that were 9% lower in amplitude during rotor speed variations and 18% higher in amplitude during blade pitch actuations.Publicationtype: Journal ArticleScopus© Citations 19 78 83 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Validation of a panel method with full-scale FOWT measurements and verification with engineering models(IOP Publishing, 2023-01); ; Scopus© Citations 1 55 85 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , The impact of unsteadiness on the aerodynamic loads of a floating offshore wind turbine(IOP Publishing, 2023); ; ; The role of unsteadiness in the aerodynamics of Floating Offshore Wind Turbines (FOWT) remains a subject of discussion among the research community. Therefore, it must be investigated whether and to what extent transient aerodynamic phenomena impact the loads of a wind turbine rotor undergoing motions in unsteady winds. The study of transient aerodynamic phenomena is closely linked to the question of whether the modern Blade Element Momentum Theory (BEMT) methods can be considered reliable for the simulation of FOWTs. In this work, investigations are carried out to identify the relevant transient aerodynamic phenomena and quantify their effects on the torque and thrust of the Floatgen wind turbine. A free-wake panel method is utilised to identify and quantify transient parts of the load response to a set of simplified unsteady scenarios: a wind gust, a harmonic surge motion and a rotor speed oscillation. Transient contributions to the load behaviour of the wind turbine can be identified in all scenarios under consideration. In addition, the ability of a state-of-the-art BEMT method to model the identified transient contributions is evaluated. While an agreement of the qualitative impact of the transient aerodynamic phenomena at moderate motion frequencies is found, a contradicting behaviour of the simulation models becomes apparent at high motion frequencies. This indicates the presence of a transient, three-dimensional wake effect that cannot be reproduced by the common unsteady corrections for BEMT methods.Publicationtype: Conference PaperScopus© Citations 2 32 84 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Experimental and numerical investigation of the yaw moment of a downwind coned wind turbine rotor(Wiley, 2022-11-15); ; ; The yaw moment of wind turbine rotors has never been in the focus of wind turbine aerodynamics. With the increasing activities in the development of support structures for Floating Offshore Wind Turbines (FOWT), which passively align with the wind, the interest has shifted, as an accurate determination of the yaw moment is a crucial issue for a successful design of such power plants. A downwind coned rotor is a promising option to increase the yaw moment and therefore the self-alignment capability of a passively yawing FOWT. Unfortunately, experimental and numerical studies on the estimation of the yaw moment of wind turbine rotors are rare. This is especially the case for downwind coned rotors. The aim of the present work is to provide reliable knowledge in this field. For this purpose, an extensive experimental and numerical study is carried out to determine the yaw moment of a downwind coned rotor. The results obtained from measurements in the wind tunnel are compared to those of simulations using a high fidelity RANS method and a blade element momentum theory (BEMT) method. BEMT is widely applied and can be considered as state of the art for predicting aerodynamic loads on FOWTs. However, the basic assumptions of BEMT do not account for a realistic influence of the skewed wake, so that the application of a correction method is necessary. In this work, the frequently used wake skew correction method based on Pitt and Peters is utilised and its influence on the calculation of the yaw moment is investigated. It is shown that this correction method yields a significant overprediction of the yaw moment in comparison to the measurements and consequently even impairs the quality of the simulation in this case. In contrast to this, the wake-resolving RANS method is capable of reproducing the measurements with reasonable accuracy and provides valuable insight into the role of the lateral force for the measurement of the yaw moment.Publicationtype: Journal ArticleScopus© Citations 1 91 700