Articles | Volume 11, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-11-3401-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-11-3401-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
11 Sep 2026
Research article |
| 11 Sep 2026
| 11 Sep 2026
Dynamics of floating-wind-turbine wakes in a wind tunnel setup
Ricardo Amaral
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Delft University of Technology, Wind Energy Section, Kluyverweg 1, 2629 HS Delft, the Netherlands
Felix Houtin-Mongrolle
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE), Prinses Beatrixlaan 800, 2595 BN The Hague, the Netherlands
Dominic von Terzi
Delft University of Technology, Wind Energy Section, Kluyverweg 1, 2629 HS Delft, the Netherlands
Kasper Laugesen
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE), Borupvej 16, 7330 Brande, Denmark
Paul Deglaire
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE), Avenue de l'Université C/O INSA Rouen – BP 08, 76800 Saint Étienne de Rouvray, France
Axelle Viré
Delft University of Technology, Wind Energy Section, Kluyverweg 1, 2629 HS Delft, the Netherlands
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Mihir Mehta, Michiel Zaaijer, and Dominic von Terzi
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Etienne Muller, Simone Gremmo, Félix Houtin-Mongrolle, Bastien Duboc, and Pierre Bénard
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Stefano Cioni, Francesco Papi, Leonardo Pagamonci, Alessandro Bianchini, Néstor Ramos-García, Georg Pirrung, Rémi Corniglion, Anaïs Lovera, Josean Galván, Ronan Boisard, Alessandro Fontanella, Paolo Schito, Alberto Zasso, Marco Belloli, Andrea Sanvito, Giacomo Persico, Lijun Zhang, Ye Li, Yarong Zhou, Simone Mancini, Koen Boorsma, Ricardo Amaral, Axelle Viré, Christian W. Schulz, Stefan Netzband, Rodrigo Soto-Valle, David Marten, Raquel Martín-San-Román, Pau Trubat, Climent Molins, Roger Bergua, Emmanuel Branlard, Jason Jonkman, and Amy Robertson
Wind Energ. Sci., 8, 1659–1691, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-1659-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-1659-2023, 2023
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Simulations of different fidelities made by the participants of the OC6 project Phase III are compared to wind tunnel wake measurements on a floating wind turbine. Results in the near wake confirm that simulations and experiments tend to diverge from the expected linearized quasi-steady behavior when the reduced frequency exceeds 0.5. In the far wake, the impact of platform motion is overestimated by simulations and even seems to be oriented to the generation of a wake less prone to dissipation.
Christian Grinderslev, Felix Houtin-Mongrolle, Niels Nørmark Sørensen, Georg Raimund Pirrung, Pim Jacobs, Aqeel Ahmed, and Bastien Duboc
Wind Energ. Sci., 8, 1625–1638, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-1625-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-1625-2023, 2023
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In standstill conditions wind turbines are at risk of vortex-induced vibrations (VIVs). VIVs can become large and lead to significant fatigue of the wind turbine structure over time. Thus it is important to have tools that can accurately compute this complex phenomenon. This paper studies the sensitivities to the chosen models of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations when modelling VIVs and finds that much care is needed when setting up simulations, especially for specific flow angles.
Axelle Viré, Bruce LeBlanc, Julia Steiner, and Nando Timmer
Wind Energ. Sci., 7, 573–584, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-573-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-573-2022, 2022
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There is continuous effort to try and improve the aerodynamic performance of wind turbine blades. This work shows that adding a leading-edge slat to wind turbine blades can significantly enhance the aerodynamic performance of wind turbines, even more than with vortex generators (which are commonly used on commercial turbines). The findings are obtained through wind tunnel tests on different airfoil–slat combinations.
Carlos Ferreira, Wei Yu, Arianna Sala, and Axelle Viré
Wind Energ. Sci., 7, 469–485, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-469-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-469-2022, 2022
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Floating offshore wind turbines may experience large surge motions that, when faster than the local wind speed, cause rotor–wake interaction.
We derive a model which is able to predict the wind speed at the wind turbine, even for large and fast motions and load variations in the wind turbine.
The proposed dynamic inflow model includes an adaptation for highly loaded flow, and it is accurate and simple enough to be easily implemented in most blade element momentum design models.
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Short summary
This work investigated the effect of a variety of floating-wind-turbine motions on the wake, the slower and more turbulent air left behind the rotor. This was done via computational simulations that reproduced a wind tunnel setup to test the tunnel's impact. While some motions barely disturbed the wake, other motions produced a remarkably different wake structure. The wind tunnel walls influenced the wake to some degree, but the general behavior was consistent with what is seen in the open air.
This work investigated the effect of a variety of floating-wind-turbine motions on the wake, the...
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