Low Uncertainty Wave Tank Testing and Validation of numerical methods for Floating Offshore Wind Turbines

Abstract. The accurate simulation of loads and motions of Floating Offshore Wind Turbines (FOWT) in operation is key to the commercialisation of this technology. To improve such load predictions, a critical assessment of the capabilities and limitations of simulation methods for FOWT is mandatory. However, uncertainties arise during the whole validation process of a numerical method. These can drastically impair the quality of the validation. In the case of FOWT, the interaction between aerodynamic, hydrodynamic and mooring loads on the one hand and platform motions on the other hand causes a high level of uncertainty in the measurement data acquired in model tests. This also applies to comparing a numerical model to the test data, as these interactions make the distinction between cause and effect challenging. To address these challenges, several improvements to the validation process aiming at the reduction of the uncertainties are proposed and evaluated in this work. The major improvements are the measurement of the rotor thrust force excluding the tower top inertia loads, a significant improvement of the wind field quality in the wave tank and the utilisation of hybrid simulations based on the measured platform motions. These steps are applied to wave tank tests of a FOWT utilising a single point mooring and the subsequent validation of the numerical panel method panMARE. The improvements allowed for a considerable decrease in the random and systematic uncertainty of the model tests and made a valuable contribution to the distinction between cause and effect regarding the deviations between measurements and simulations.