Floating wind turbine motion assessment

In April and May 2011 model tests have been conducted in the Offshore wave basin of MARIN to calibrate and validate simulation codes for floating wind turbines. This paper reports on a numerical study of an offshore floating wind turbine (OFWT) and about the comparison of simulation results with experiments at model scale. This numerical study aims to reproduce the physical model tests of a wind turbine installed on a floater tested in waves. Firstly the model test set-up is described. Secondly, the hydrodynamic model of the floater is presented together with the representation of the wind turbine. In this numerical study the diffraction theory is applied to determine the response of the floater to waves from its geometry. Then the motions of the floater are simulated in time domain when the floater is exposed to waves. The motions resulting from the numerical study are compared to motions measured during the model tests. The outcome of this comparison is discussed in the conclusion of this paper.