Articles | Volume 11, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-11-839-2026
© 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-11-839-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Development of a hardware-in-the-loop wind tunnel setup to study the aerodynamic response of floating offshore wind turbines
Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Kluyverweg 1, 2629 HS Delft, the Netherlands
Axelle Viré
Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Kluyverweg 1, 2629 HS Delft, the Netherlands
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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
Floating wind turbines are subject to complex aerodynamics that are not yet fully understood. Lab-scale experiments are crucial for capturing these phenomena and validating numerical tools, but due to the different physics, this is difficult with traditional approaches. This paper presents a new, hybrid wind tunnel experimental setup capable of reproducing the coupled aerodynamic and motion response of floating wind turbines.
Floating wind turbines are subject to complex aerodynamics that are not yet fully understood....
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