Effects of the yaw error and the fault conditions on the dynamic characteristics of the 15 MW offshore semi-submersible wind turbine

Abstract

The floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) have a higher failure rate compared to onshore wind turbines, which could lead to aerodynamic imbalance on the floating systems. In addition, yaw error presents an inevitable challenge for FOWTs. This study aims to investigate the effects of the yaw error and the fault conditions on the dynamic properties of the IEA 15 MW semi-submersible FOWT using OpenFAST. The fault conditions involve blade seize without shutdown, blade seize with shutdown and grid loss. The platform motions and structure loads under different yaw errors (−20°, −8°, 0°, 8°, 20°) for different fault conditions were investigated. The dynamic response resulting from the fault was compared with the normal condition. Moreover, the optimal yaw angle under fault conditions was investigated in this paper. The results revealed that the fault shutdown conditions significantly impact the motions and loads of the wind turbine, with substantial reverse tower top and base bending moments. The yaw error, conversely, has less effect on the motions of the wind turbine, but can ameliorate the transient effect in the fault shutdown conditions. Additionally, it is recommended to operate the wind turbine at a yaw angle of 25–30° for wind speeds greater than 12 m/s.