Verification and Validation of Model-Scale Turbine Performance and Control Strategies for the IEA Wind 15 MW Reference Wind Turbine (3)

Published: 2024

Author(s):
Medoza, N.
Robertson, A.
Jonkman, J.
Wang, L.
Bergua, R.
Ngo, T.
Das, T.
Odeh, M.
Mohsin, K.
Flavia, F. F.
Child, B.
Bangga, g.
Fowler, M.
Groupee, A.
Kimball, R.
Lenfest, E.
Viselli, A.

Publication Name: MDPI

Publication URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/20/7649/pdf

Research Area:
Keywords:
, , ,

Abstract:

Abstract: To enable the fast growth of the floating offshore wind industry, simulation models must
be validated with experimental data. Floating wind model-scale experiments in wind–wave facilities
have been performed over the last two decades with varying levels of fidelity and limitations.
However, the turbine controls in these experiments have considered only limited control strategies
and implementations. To allow for control co-design, this research focuses on implementing and
experimentally validating more advanced turbine control actions and strategies in a wind–wave
basin for a 1:70-scale model of the International Energy Agency’s wind 15 MW reference wind
turbine. The control strategies analyzed include torque control, collective pitch control, and transition
region control (setpoint smoothing). Our experimental and numerical results include the effects
of varying rotor speeds, blade pitches, and wind environments on the turbine thrust and torque.
Numerical models from three different software tools are presented and compared to the experimental
results. Their ability to effectively represent the aero-dynamic response of the wind turbine to the
control actions is successfully validated. Finally, turbine controller tuning parameters based on the
derivatives of thrust and torque are derived to allow for improved offshore wind turbine dynamics
and to validate the ability of modeling tools to model the dynamics of floating offshore wind turbines
with control co-design.