Predicting the occurrence of the vortex ring state for floating offshore wind turbines

Abstract

The local aerodynamic loading on floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) is more complex than on bottom-fixed wind turbines due to the platform motions. In particular, the FOWT rotor may start to interact with its own wake and enter a so-called vortex ring state (VRS). However, it is still unclear when, and to what extent, the VRS may happen to floating offshore wind turbines. In this paper, we quantitatively predict the VRS using Wolkovitch's criterion during the operating conditions of different FOWTs simulated by FAST. The results show that the type of floating foundation has a significant influence on the aerodynamic performance of the rotor. Also, the probability of occurrence of VRS is bigger for the floating platforms that are more sensitive to wave excitations.