Effect of Turbulence Intensity on Aerodynamic Loads of Floating Wind Turbine under Wind–Wave Coupling Effect

Abstract

This study first employs TurbSim and OpenFAST (Fatigue, Aerodynamics, Structures, Turbulence) programs for secondary development to comprehensively model the NREL-5MW semi-submersible wind turbine and OC4-DeepC wind floating platform with wind–wave interaction. Next, we investigate the dynamic response of floating wind turbines under the complex coupling of turbulent winds and irregular waves. Turbulent wind fields were simulated using the IEC Kaimal model with turbulence intensities of 5% and 20%. Additionally, two irregular waves were simulated with the Pierson–Moskowitz (P–M) spectrum. The results indicate that in turbulent wind conditions, the aerodynamic power of the wind turbine and the root bending moments of the blades are significantly influenced by turbulence, while the impact of waves is minimal. The coupled motion response of the floating platform demonstrates that turbulence intensity has the greatest impact on the platform’s heave and pitch motions, underscoring the importance of turbulence in platform stability. This study provides essential insights for designing and optimizing floating wind turbines in complex wind–wave coupling offshore environments.

Study on influence of turbulence intensity on blade airfoil icing mass & aerodynamic performance

“…Several studies have been conducted on turbulence intensities, such as turbulence intensities such as [ 12 ] used LiDAR to study the mean wind shear [ 13 , 14 ], classified the turbulence intensities into low level, medium, and extreme or high [ 15 , 16 ], studied the impact and how it causes a reduction in power performance [ 14 ]; obtained 23–42 % power reduction from the turbulence effect [ [17] , [18] , [19] ], showed that turbulence intensities can lead to power output deviation from overestimate or underestimate depending on wind characteristics. Tian et al, 2024 [ 17 ] presented discrepancies in power curves attributed to the effects of turbulence intensity. Jiao et al, 2013 [ 20 ] It was found that increasing turbulence intensities led to changes in vibration, load, and fatigue of the wind turbine nacelle.…”