| 26 Jan 2026
Impact of Wake Impingement on the Fatigue Loads in the Main Bearings and Blades of Offshore Wind Turbines
Abstract. This study investigates the impact of wake impingement on the fatigue loads in the components of offshore wind turbines. More specifically, the focus of this paper lies on the blades and the main bearings of a geared wind turbine. For this, OpenFAST models of a deployed 8.4 MW turbine are coupled in the mid-fidelity wind farm simulation tool FAST.Farm, to simulate load time series of turbines operating under wake interactions. A two-step analysis is carried out: first, a parametric study explores the influence of turbine spacing and wake overlap on fatigue loads; second, a case study applies the framework to a real offshore wind farm in the Belgian North Sea. Results show that wake interactions can reduce blade root loading at below-rated wind speeds but significantly increase fatigue damage above rated conditions, while main bearing lifetimes exhibit strong asymmetries depending on the side of wake impingement. The farm-level analysis highlights spatial variability in component degradation, showcasing how damage maps can be obtained that link turbine position, inflow direction, and operating conditions to expected lifetime reductions. These findings underline the importance of considering wake effects in design, lifetime assessment, and operation and maintenance planning of offshore wind farms.
Competing interests: At least one of the (co-)authors is a member of the editorial board of Wind Energy Science.
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