FAST V8 Research Articles

Optimization of multiple rotational inertia double tuned mass damper for offshore wind turbines under earthquake, wind, and wave loads

This study introduces a framework for designing an optimal multiple rotational inertia double tuned mass damper (MRIDTMD) with multiple tuning frequencies to effectively mitigate vibrations in offshore wind turbines (OWTs) subjected to combined wind, wave, and seismic loads. The framework comprises a coupled numerical model of an OWT with an MRIDTMD, an intelligent optimization algorithm, and parallel computing technology. First, coupled governing equations of motion for an OWT with an MRIDTMD under seismic conditions are derived based on multibody dynamics and fully coupled analysis theories in FAST v8. Subsequently, an MRIDTMD submodule is developed and integrated into FAST v8 to establish a coupled analysis model for an OWT with MRIDTMDs using an updated simulation tool. Furthermore, an intelligent optimization algorithm and parallel computing technology are introduced to establish the framework, and the MRIDTMDs are optimized. Moreover, the efficiency of the optimized MRIDTMD is assessed based on observed reductions in the OWT responses under combined seismic cases. Subsequently, comparisons with an optimized multiple tuned mass damper (MTMD) and a parametric study are conducted. The effectiveness and robustness of the optimized MRIDTMD and the improved mitigation effects of the MRIDTMD compared with the MTMD owing to the additional inerter are proved.

Vibration control and stroke evaluation of bi-directional bistable nonlinear energy sinks applied in monopile offshore wind turbines during emergency shutdown

Monopile offshore wind turbines (OWTs) in complex wind and wave environments can generate more excessive vibrations in the fore-aft (FA) and side-to-side (SS) directions when emergency shutdowns occur, and therefore damping techniques to alleviate such vibrations are essential. Due to the potential frequency detuning (reduced damping effectiveness) of traditional tuned mass dampers (TMDs) and stroke issues (such as large strokes of TMDs and limited maximum strokes of unidirectional nonlinear energy sinks (NESs)) in existing absorbers, this paper proposes a bi-directional bistable nonlinear energy sink (BBNES) to mitigate the vibration of the OWT in the FA and SS directions during the emergency shutdown. First, the proposed device and its operation mechanism are elaborated, and an optimization method for the device is introduced. Then, the dynamic analysis model of the BBNES is developed for vibration control of the OWT and incorporated into a fully coupled numerical simulation tool with high fidelity, FAST v8. Subsequently, the responses of the OWT without and with the proposed BBNES and the bi-directional tuned mass damper (BTMD) are exhaustively investigated under diverse conditions (including mass ratios, wind-wave loadings, emergency shutdown times, wind-wave misalignments, and 1st mode natural frequencies of the OWT) to reveal their performances and compare them. The research results show that under most conditions, the BBNES and BTMD have a similar damping performance in the FA direction, whereas the BBNES has a slightly lower damping performance in the SS direction than the BTMD. In addition, except for the wind velocity of 8 m/s at the hub and the wind-wave misalignment of 90°, the FA stroke of the BBNES with a small mass ratio (i.e., 0.01∼0.035) is significantly smaller than that of the BTMD with the same mass ratio by more than 1.1 m, and even up to about 4 m. The SS stroke of the BBNES is slightly greater than that of the BTMD, and in most cases, the difference between both is less than 0.52 m. Therefore, the BBNES is superior to the BTMD in this regard. When the 1st mode natural frequency of the OWT decreases, the BTMD can lose its tuning efficacy and makes the tower more susceptible to resonance caused by 1p and wave loadings, while the BBNES is not affected by the 1st mode natural frequency variation of the OWT, demonstrating its stronger robustness.

Vibration mitigation in offshore wind turbine under combined wind-wave-earthquake loads using the tuned mass damper inerter

This study proposes the application of a tuned mass damper inerter (TMDI) to mitigate vibrations in offshore wind turbines (OWTs) under combined wind-wave-earthquake loads. Primarily, the governing equation for the TMDI system is derived, which combines the tuned mass damper (TMD) with a linear inerter. Then the TMDI submodule is developed and integrated into the updated FAST v8. Further, an optimization framework that considers the influence of higher modes has been proposed to optimize the TMDI. The coupled analyses of OWTs under typical seismic cases are performed, and the effectiveness of the optimized TMDI is evaluated based on the mitigated structural responses. The results demonstrate that the TMDI outperforms the TMD in suppressing the coupled wind-wave-earthquake responses by considering smaller attached mass. This superiority can be attributed to the multi-frequency and enhanced fundamental frequency suppression capabilities of the TMDI, resulting from the higher-mode damping effect and mass amplification effect of the inerter device. Meanwhile, the inclusion of the inerter device significantly reduces the damper stroke. Moreover, it is found that the preferred position for the TMDI is situated at the upper part of the maximum amplitude of the second structural mode of the OWTs where significant variations in the modal shape occur.

Coupled analysis of monopile offshore wind turbine under modified three-dimensional seafloor ground motions

The safe operation of offshore wind turbines (OWTs) is significantly influenced by the combined effect of wind, waves, and offshore earthquakes. However, limited seafloor ground motion data have been used to determine the dynamic characteristics and responses of OWTs subjected to offshore earthquakes. Hence, synthetic seafloor ground motions are particularly important for seismic analysis of OWTs. This paper proposes a new method to simulate seafloor ground motions. In the study, the dynamic shear modulus of the water-bearing soil layer and the damping effect of the soil–seawater layers were introduced to modify the simple Crouse and Quilter (C-Q) model in seawater and P-SV and SH transfer function models at offshore sites. Further, three-dimensional seismic waves were synthesized based on the modified transfer function models at a typical offshore site with bedrock–soil–seawater layers, and a fully coupled numerical analysis model of OWTs, including the rotor nacelle assembly, tower structure, and substructure with pile–soil interaction (PSI) under wind, wave, and seafloor ground motion, was established by incorporating the earthquake module and PSI module into the updated FAST v8 software. Moreover, based on the established coupled OWT model, the measured seafloor ground motion records and the seafloor ground motions synthesized using the proposed method were compared, and a coupled analysis of the OWT under wind, wave, and offshore earthquake loadings was carried out. Furthermore, the coupled mechanisms of the OWT under synthesized and recorded seafloor ground motions were determined.

Impact mechanism of frequency response on wind turbine fatigue load

Wind turbines' participation in frequency response is known to improve the frequency stability of power systems, but it can also have a negative impact on the fatigue load of wind turbines. The objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of frequency response on the fatigue loads experienced by various components of a wind turbine, including the low-speed shaft, tower, and blade. To achieve this goal, the authors develop a model of a variable speed horizontal-axis wind turbine based on a doubly fed induction generator. They derive explicit analytical equations of low-speed shaft torque, tower bending moment, and blade bending moment to describe the fluctuations of torque and moment related to the operating states of wind turbines, such as generator torque, rotor speed, and pitch angle, under frequency response. These equations allow for the evaluation of the impact of frequency response on torque and moment changes and fatigue load. Spectral density analysis and modal analysis are used to further analyze the analytical equations, examining the influence of frequency response on different operating conditions of wind turbines and determining the mechanism by which frequency response affects fatigue load qualitatively and quantitatively. The authors use the FAST V8 Code based on the NREL offshore 5-MW baseline wind turbine to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed analysis method in evaluating fatigue loads affected by frequency response. The results show that the fatigue load on the low-speed shaft and the lateral side of the tower will significantly increase due to wind turbine participation in frequency response.

Modelica‐AeroDyn: Development, benchmark, and application of a comprehensive object‐oriented tool for dynamic analysis of non‐conventional horizontal‐axis floating wind turbines

AbstractThe exploitation of offshore wind energy by means of floating wind turbines is gaining traction as a suitable option to produce sustainable energy. Multi‐rotor floating wind turbines have been proposed as an appealing option to reduce the costs associated with manufacturing, logistics, offshore installations, and operation and maintenance of large wind turbine components. The development of such systems is forestalled by the lack of a dedicated tool for dynamics and load analysis. Standard codes, such as FAST by NREL, offer the desired fidelity level but are not able to accommodate multi‐rotor configurations. A few experimental codes have been also proposed, which may accommodate multi‐rotor systems, but low flexibility makes them impractical to study a vast range of innovative multi‐rotor FWTs concepts. To close the gap, this work presents the development and comprehensive benchmark of a fully coupled aero‐hydro‐servo‐elastic tool able to easily accommodate arbitrary platform and tower geometries and the number of wind turbines employed. Development is carried out in Modelica, which allows for the employment of the same code functionality in a virtually unlimited number of physical configurations. Full blade‐element momentum capabilities are achieved by integrating into Modelica the well‐established NREL aerodynamic module AeroDyn v15 within FAST v8. Structural dynamics of tower and blades are implemented through a lumped‐element approach. Hydrodynamic loads are computed by employing the DNV software SESAM WADAM. Thorough benchmark is performed against FAST, and positive results are obtained. The dynamic performance of a two‐rotor floating wind turbine is finally assessed considering different turbulence spectrums.

Comparative dynamic analysis of two-rotor wind turbine on spar-type, semi-submersible, and tension-leg floating platforms

Multi-rotor floating offshore wind turbines have been recently proposed as an innovative technology to further reduce the cost of offshore wind energy. Even though examples of commercial prototypes are present, the literature lacks studies on the dynamic performance of such systems. This work presents a comparative analysis of a two-rotor wind turbine concept mounted on spar-type, semi-submersible, and tension-leg platforms. Their short-term performance is assessed by considering six different load cases considering directionally congruent turbulent wind profiles and irregular sea states. The analysis is carried out through an in-house fully-coupled code developed in Modelica. AeroDyn v15 within FAST v8 by NREL is coupled to the Modelica code to achieve blade-element momentum capabilities. Results indicate that platform yaw motion is an important dynamic mode of the systems, particularly for the spar configuration. Stiffer station-keeping lines and longer fairlead distance to the platform centerline reduce significantly yaw motion, as in the case of the semi-submersible and tension-leg configurations. Large tower base bending moment standard deviations and the associated concentration of energy at the platform heave and pitch motion frequencies indicate an increased risk for fatigue damage for the TLP configuration, especially at above-rated wind speeds. Moreover, large tendon loads can pose concerns in terms of fatigue and limit state performance. Large mean platform pitch angle and yaw standard deviation contribute to the reduction of electric power output quality. Extreme storm conditions greatly increase the response standard deviation, especially for the semi-submersible configuration.

Dynamic responses of monopile wind turbine with coupled spring boundaries in bed rock-soil-seawater offshore site under offshore ground motions

Recently, the synthesis of spatially varying offshore ground motions received great attention. Meanwhile, the limited investigations of the dynamic characteristics of offshore wind turbines (OWT) under offshore earthquakes are performed. In the study, the nonlinear wave propagation theories are applied to derived the transfer functions of offshore shear seismic waves, e.g. SH and SV seismic waves. For the compressional P seismic wave at the typical bed rock-soil-seater offshore site, the proposed C-Q model with the soil saturation by seawater is applied in the derivation. The linearized method for the OWT pile foundation is established based on nonlinear p-y curve, Winkel elastic beam model and empirical formulas. Then the equivalent pile foundation model of the linearized stiffness matrix coupling with the degree of freedoms (DOFs) of pile head node at the mudline is recommended. Further, the governing equations of the OWT substructures under environmental and seismic loads are updated. Based on the derivations and modifications, modules for seafloor ground motion synthesis and equivalent coupled elastic boundaries of pile-soil interaction (PSI) are developed and added into FAST v8, then the fully coupled analysis model of OWTs with coupled spring boundaries under wind, wave, and earthquake loads is established. In addition, the synthesized ground motions at onshore and offshore sites are compared. The variations in soil saturation influenced by the seawater are proven to be a dominant factor in the synthesis of offshore ground motions. Moreover, based on the updated fully coupled analysis model, the dynamic characteristics and coupling mechanisms of the OWT under spatial ground motions are illustrated. Consequently, the influence of the seawater and soil saturation on the linearized pile foundation stiffness, natural modes, and structural responses of the OWT is proved sequentially. Following the comparisons of the WT dynamic responses, it can be seen the generally decreasing of the responses at the offshore site compared with onshore site. For the base shear and bending moment at the mudline, the high order frequencies shall be significantly activated at the onshore site, owing to the abundant energy distribution of P and SV seismic waves under such site conditions.

Vibration mitigation of an integrated structure consisting of a monopile offshore wind turbine and aquaculture cage under earthquake, wind, and wave loads

To realize multi-purpose exploration of marine resources, a novel design consisting of a monopile offshore wind turbine and steel aquaculture cage in an integrated structure is proposed in this paper; the structure is denoted as MOWTAC. Based on the theories of the screen model, a hydrodynamic analysis module is developed in the OWT simulation tool FASTv8. Then, in combination with a seismic analysis module, the fully coupled analysis model of the MOWTAC is established in the updated FAST v8. Based on the coupled model, the dynamic characteristics and coupling mechanisms of the MOWTAC under earthquake, wind, and wave loads are investigated. A tuned mass damper (TMD) is applied to the MOWTAC under earthquakes, and the influence of the TMD parameters on the mitigation effects is studied. Furthermore, a multiple tuned mass damper (MTMD) with various tuning frequencies is applied, and comparisons with the TMD are carried out. Based on the reduction of seismic responses using the TMD and MTMD, vibration control methods and related design parameters are recommended for the MOWTAC under earthquake, wind, and wave loads.

Study on the Motion Characteristics of 10 MW Superconducting Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Considering 2nd Order Wave Effect

Recently, several countries have made commitments to move to a net-zero emission by the year 2050 in a response to climate change. Among various renewable energy systems to realize the target, wind energy system has been gaining much attention as a favorable alternative source to fossil fuel energy. In particular, many floating offshore wind turbines (FOWT) are expected to be installed because of vast installation resources without water depth limit conditions, stable and strong wind resources, relatively low constraints on noise emission, and space restriction compared to onshore wind turbines. In this study, a 10 MW superconducting floating offshore wind turbine was modeled with a 1/90 scale ratio and was experimentally tested at the Ocean Engineering Widetank of the University of Ulsan. The model calibration of the scaled model was performed with free decay test and showed a good correlation with simulation results calculated from FAST V8 of NREL. The motion characteristics of the 10 MW superconducting FOWT semi-submersible type platform was investigated under regular waves and irregular waves through the comparison of model test data and simulation results. The study on the motion characteristics of the model showed that the simulation considering the 2nd order wave effects to hydrodynamic forces and moments provided better accuracy close to the model test data.

Dynamic Modeling of an Offshore Floating Wind Turbine for Application in the Mediterranean Sea

Wind power is emerging as one of the most sustainable and low-cost options for energy production. Far-offshore floating wind turbines are attractive in view of exploiting high wind availability sites while minimizing environmental and landscape impact. In the last few years, some offshore floating wind farms were deployed in Northern Europe for technology validation, with very promising results. At present time, however, no offshore wind farm installations have been developed in the Mediterranean Sea. The aim of this work is to comprehensively model an offshore floating wind turbine and examine the behavior resulting from a wide spectrum of sea and wind states typical of the Mediterranean Sea. The flexible and accessible in-house model developed for this purpose is compared with the reference model FAST v8.16 for verifying its reliability. Then, a simulation campaign is carried out to estimate the wind turbine LCOE (Levelized Cost of Energy). Based on this, the best substructure is chosen and the convenience of the investment is evaluated.

Tripod-Supported Offshore Wind Turbines: Modal and Coupled Analysis and a Parametric Study Using X-SEA and FAST

This paper presents theoretical aspects and an extensive numerical study of the coupled analysis of tripod support structures for offshore wind turbines (OWTs) by using X-SEA and FAST v8 programs. In a number of site conditions such as extreme and longer period waves, fast installation, and lighter foundations, tripod structures are more advantageous than monopile and jacket structures. In the implemented dynamic coupled analysis, the sub-structural module in FAST was replaced by the X-SEA offshore substructure analysis component. The time-histories of the reaction forces and the turbine loads were then calculated. The results obtained from X-SEA and from FAST were in good agreement. The pile-soil-structure interaction (PSSI) was included for reliable evaluation of OWT structural systems. The superelement concept was introduced to reduce the computational time. Modal, coupled and uncoupled analyses of the NREL 5MW OWT-tripod support structure including PSSI were carried out and the discussions on the natural frequencies, mode shapes and resulted displacements are presented. Compared to the uncoupled models, the physical interaction between the tower and the support structure in the coupled models resulted in smaller responses. Compared to the fixed support structures, i.e., when PSSI is not included, the piled-support structure has lower natural frequencies and larger responses attributed to its actual flexibility. The models using pile superelements are computationally efficient and give results that are identical to the common finite element models.

Reducing Tower Fatigue through Blade Back Twist and Active Pitch-to-Stall Control Strategy for a Semi-Submersible Floating Offshore Wind Turbine

The necessity of producing more electricity from renewable sources has been driven predominantly by the need to prevent irreversible climate chance. Currently, industry is looking towards floating offshore wind turbine solutions to form part of their future renewable portfolio. However, wind turbine loads are often increased when mounted on a floating rather than fixed platform. Negative damping must also be avoided to prevent tower oscillations. By presenting a turbine actively pitching-to-stall, the impact on the tower fore–aft bending moment of a blade with back twist towards feather as it approaches the tip was explored, utilizing the time domain FAST v8 simulation tool. The turbine was coupled to a floating semisubmersible platform, as this type of floater suffers from increased fore–aft oscillations of the tower, and therefore could benefit from this alternative control approach. Correlation between the responses of the blade’s flapwise bending moment and the tower base’s fore–aft moment was observed with this back-twisted pitch-to-stall blade. Negative damping was also avoided by utilizing a pitch-to-stall control strategy. At 13 and 18 m/s mean turbulent winds, a 20% and 5.8% increase in the tower axial fatigue life was achieved, respectively. Overall, it was shown that the proposed approach seems to be effective in diminishing detrimental oscillations of the power output and in enhancing the tower axial fatigue life.

Coupled Analysis of Offshore Wind Turbine Jacket Structures with Pile-Soil-Structure Interaction Using FAST v8 and X-SEA

The coupled analysis between a turbine in operating condition and a complex jacket support structure was formulated in this paper for the reliable evaluation of offshore wind turbine structures including pile-soil-structure interactions (PSSIs). Discussions on the theoretical and simulation aspects of the coupled analysis are presented. The dynamic coupled analysis was implemented in X-SEA program and validated with FAST v8 (fatigue, aerodynamics, structures and turbulence) developed by NREL, USA. By replacing the sub-structural module in the FAST with the component of offshore substructure in the X-SEA, the reaction forces and the turbine loads were calculated in each time step and the results from X-SEA were compared with that from FAST. It showed very good agreement with each other. A case study of a NREL 5MW offshore wind turbine on a jacket support structure was performed. Coupled dynamic analyses of offshore wind turbine and support structures with PSSI were carried out. The results showed that in the coupled analysis, the responses of the structure are significantly less than in the uncoupled analysis. The support structure considering PSSI exhibited decreased natural frequencies and more flexible responses compared to the fixed-support structure. The implemented coupled analysis including PSSI was shown to be more accurate and computationally efficient.

State-of-the-art model for the LIFES50+ OO-Star Wind Floater Semi 10MW floating wind turbine

This paper describes a state-of-the-art model of the DTU 10MW Reference Wind Turbine mounted on the LIFES50+ OO-Star Wind Floater Semi 10MW floating substructure, implemented in FAST v8.16. The purpose of this implementation is to serve as a reference for different activities carried out within the LIFES50+ project. Attention is given to the changes necessary to adapt the numerical model of the onshore DTU 10MW Reference Wind Turbine to a floating foundation. These changes entail controller, tower structural properties, floating substructure hydrodynamics and mooring system. The basic DTU Wind Energy controller was tuned in order to avoid the “negative damping” problem. The flexible tower was extended down to the still water level to capture some of the floater flexibility. The mooring lines were implemented in MoorDyn, which includes dynamic effects and allows the user to define multi-segmented mooring lines. Hydrodynamics were precomputed in the radiation-diffraction solver WAMIT, while viscous drag effects are captured by the Morison drag term. The floating substructure was defined in HydroDyn to approximate the main drag loads on the structure, keeping in mind that only circular members can be modelled. A first set of simulations for system identification purposes was carried out to assess system properties such as natural frequencies and response to regular waves. The controller was tested in a simulation with uniform wind ranging from cut-in to cut-out wind speed. A set of simulations in stochastic wind and waves was carried out to characterize the global response of the floating wind turbine. The results are presented and the main physical phenomena are discussed. The model will form the basis for further studies in the LIFES50+ project and is available for free use.

NAUTILUS-DTU10 MW Floating Offshore Wind Turbine at Gulf of Maine: Public numerical models of an actively ballasted semisubmersible

This study presents two numerical multiphysics models of the NAUTILUS-10 floating support structure mounting the DTU10 MW Reference Wind Turbine at Gulf of Maine site, and analyses its dynamics. With the site conditions and the FAST model of the onshore turbine as the starting point, the floating support structure: tower, floating substructure with its corresponding active ballast system and station keeping system, was designed by NAUTILUS. The numerical models were developed and the onshore DTU wind energy controller was tuned to avoid the resonance of the operating FOWT by TECNALIA, in the framework of H2020 LIFES50+ project. This concept and its subsystems are fully characterised throughout this paper and implemented in opensource code, FAST v8.16. Here, the mooring dynamics are solved using MoorDyn, and the hydrodynamic properties are computed using HydroDyn. Viscous effects, not captured by radiation-diffraction theory, are modelled using two different approaches: (1) through linear and quadratic additional hydrodynamic damping matrices and (2) by means of Morison elements. A set of simulations (such as, decay, wind only and broadband irregular waves tests) were carried out with system identification purposes and to analyse the differences between the two models presented. Then, a set of simulations in stochastic wind and waves were carried out to characterise the global response of the FOWT.

Aeroelastic analysis of a floating offshore wind turbine in platform‐induced surge motion using a fully coupled CFD‐MBD method

AbstractModern offshore wind turbines are susceptible to blade deformation because of their increased size and the recent trend of installing these turbines on floating platforms in deep sea. In this paper, an aeroelastic analysis tool for floating offshore wind turbines is presented by coupling a high‐fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver with a general purpose multibody dynamics code, which is capable of modelling flexible bodies based on the nonlinear beam theory. With the tool developed, we demonstrated its applications to the NREL 5 MW offshore wind turbine with aeroelastic blades. The impacts of blade flexibility and platform‐induced surge motion on wind turbine aerodynamics and structural responses are studied and illustrated by the CFD results of the flow field, force, and wake structure. Results are compared with data obtained from the engineering tool FAST v8.

Added-mass effects on a horizontal-axis tidal turbine using FAST v8

Abstract Added mass on tidal turbine blades has the potential to alter the blade dynamic response, such as natural frequencies and vibration amplitudes, as a response to blade acceleration. Currently, most aeroelastic design tools do not consider such effects as they are complex and expensive to model, and they are not an intrinsic part of most blade-element momentum theory codes, which are commonly used in the tidal energy industry. This article outlines the addition of added-mass effects to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's design tool FAST v8. A verification is presented for a spring-mass system with an initial displacement, and a case study is performed for the Reference Model 1 20-m-diameter tidal turbine. For the 20-m-diameter turbine, it was shown that the natural frequency of vibration is reduced by 65% when added mass is considered. Further, the thrust loads are increased by 2.5% when the blades are excited by a 5% step increase in inflow velocity when added mass is considered. This decrease can have a significant impact on the overall turbine design, as it is important to design the blades with a natural frequency so that they are not excited by the rotor speed and its harmonics, wherein aerodynamic excitation can lead to fatigue damage. However, it was shown that when turbulent inflow with an intensity of 20% was modeled, there was almost no impact on the loads and blade displacement with added-mass effects except for a small difference in the fatigue response of the blade to turbulent load fluctuations.

Modeling of quasi-static thrust load of wind turbines based on 1 s SCADA data

Abstract. A reliable load history is crucial for a fatigue assessment of wind turbines. However, installing strain sensors on every wind turbine is not economically feasible. In this paper, a technique is proposed to reconstruct the thrust load history of a wind turbine based on high-frequency Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) data. Strain measurements recorded during a short period of time are used to train a neural network. The selection of appropriate input parameters is performed based on Pearson correlation and mutual information. Once the training is done, the model can be used to predict the thrust load based on SCADA data only. The technique is validated on two different datasets, one consisting of simulation data (using the software FAST v8, created by Jonkman and Jonkman, 2016) obtained in a controllable environment and one consisting of measurements taken at an offshore wind turbine. In general, the relative error between simulated or measured and predicted thrust load barely exceeds 15 % during normal operation.

A validation and code-to-code verification of FAST for a megawatt-scale wind turbine with aeroelastically tailored blades

Abstract. This paper presents validation and code-to-code verification of the latest version of the U.S. Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory wind turbine aeroelastic engineering simulation tool, FAST v8. A set of 1141 test cases, for which experimental data from a Siemens 2.3 MW machine have been made available and were in accordance with the International Electrotechnical Commission 61400-13 guidelines, were identified. These conditions were simulated using FAST as well as the Siemens in-house aeroelastic code, BHawC. This paper presents a detailed analysis comparing results from FAST with those from BHawC as well as experimental measurements, using statistics including the means and the standard deviations along with the power spectral densities of select turbine parameters and loads. Results indicate good agreement among the predictions using FAST, BHawC, and experimental measurements. These agreements are discussed in detail in this paper, along with some comments regarding the differences seen in these comparisons relative to the inherent uncertainties in such a model-based analysis.