Inclusion of rotor moments in scaled wave tank test of a floating wind turbine using SiL hybrid method

The hybrid testing method developed by CENER for floating wind turbine scaled tests combining wind and waves (SIL) has been upgraded in order to introduce not only the wind turbine rotor thrust, but also the out-of-plane rotor moments (aerodynamic and gyroscopic). The former ducted-fan has been substituted by a multi-propellers actuator system. The new system has been completely developed, calibrated and used on a test campaign carried out at MARIN’s Concept Basin. It was installed on a 1/50 scaled model of the DeepCwind 5MW semisubmersible turbine built by MARIN within the EU MARINET2/Call No.3 under ACTFLOW project framework. The control strategy of the floating turbine was developed by POLIMI and TUDELFT and integrated into the SIL numerical model. The experiment has proved a good behaviour of the enhanced SiL method. It has revealed that the relative importance of gyroscopic moments is low in comparison with the aerodynamic rotor moments in the considered cases. The results also show how rotor moments are particularly important in the floating turbine dynamics in cases with large rotor load imbalances such as situations where one blade fails to pitch.