SCALEWIND

WHY

The floating offshore wind market is growing rapidly. Current plans indicate that 40 to 80 GW of floating wind capacity could be in place by 2040, demonstrating significant potential. The technology is currently in a pre-commercial phase (see figure below). Demonstration projects have already proven that it technically works in various environments. The focus has now shifted to proving that floating wind turbines can also be cost-effective in a wind farm configuration.

With large-scale floating wind farms being planned, it is clear that the commercial phase (Phase 3 in the figure) is approaching. Because floating turbines experience high stress over time, it is crucial to better understand and mitigate the uncertainty associated with structural fatigue. However, long-term demonstration systems for turbines larger than 15MW do not yet exist, making it difficult to evaluate this fatigue properly.

Installing large numbers of floaters means that design errors can be repeated multiple times, potentially resulting in high additional costs. Therefore, accurate computer models and scaled-down physical tests are needed to assess fatigue before the turbines can be built commercially. Reducing uncertainty reduces both technical and financial risks. This project aims to test and improve these models, among other things, by comparing them with high-quality test data.

WHAT

This project aims to establish validated procedures, models and datasets for the combined numerical and experimental modelling of fatigue loading for critical components of a floating offshore wind turbine. We will utilise both computer simulations and physical model tests to investigate and gain a deeper understanding of the key factors influencing fatigue in floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs). Numerical simulations will help identify which loads cause the most fatigue and pinpoint where uncertainties exist. Comparing different simulation results will also show which conditions and behaviours are most important and where models disagree. A detailed series of physical tests in a wave basin will focus on the key fatigue-related issues and areas where simulations are uncertain. Test methods will be developed and applied, and the test results will be used to verify and refine the accuracy of the simulations. Once validated, the models can be used to study fatigue in more depth.

The project is divided into the following activities:

• Identify knowledge gaps, challenges, and risks associated with large-scale FOWT systems.
• Define the reference turbine, platform, tower, and mooring system.
• Develop numerical models based on the reference FOWT design.
• Step-by-step validation of the models using detailed lab tests and real-world data.
• Provide guidance on how to do both experimental and simulation work properly.

EXPECTED RESULTS

As floating wind turbines become increasingly larger, the physics involved can exhibit different behaviour. It is essential to verify whether our current models can still accurately predict the performance of these larger systems. Because the wind loads, control systems, flexible structure, floating platform and mooring facilities all interact, we need an integrated approach to evaluate the entire system.

This project will yield validated methods, models, and datasets for studying fatigue loads on key components of floating wind turbines with a capacity of 15 MW and larger. To achieve this, we will conduct detailed model tests that focus on the key factors contributing to fatigue and on areas where simulations indicate high uncertainty.