A coupled floating offshore wind turbine analysis with high-fidelity methods

This paper presents results of numerical computations for floating off-shore wind turbines using, as an example, a machine of 10-MW rated power. The hydrodynamic loads on the support platform are computed using the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics method, which is mesh-free and represents the water and floating structures as a set of particles. The aerodynamic loads on the rotor are computed using the Helicopter Multi-Block flow solver. The method solves the Navier-Stokes equations in integral form using the arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian formulation for time-dependent domains with moving boundaries. The motion of the floating offshore wind turbine is computed using a Multi-Body Dynamic Model of rigid bodies and frictionless joints. Mooring cables are modelled as a set of springs and dampers. The loosely coupled algorithm used in this work is described in detail and the obtained results are presented. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.