Numerical Study on Aerodynamic Performance of Floating Dual-Rotor Wind Turbines in Heave and Surge Motions

Compared with the traditional wind turbine of a single rotor,dual-rotor wind turbines(DRWTs)have higher wind energy capture efficiency and a more complex structure.Therefore,the aerodynamic performance of the DRWT installed on the floating platform will be greatly affected by the motion caused by wind and wave loads.In this paper,5 MW and 750 kW single rotor wind turbines(SRWTs)are combined into a 5 MW-5 MW DRWT and a 5 MW-750 kW DRWT,and their power output and wake field characteristics in different motions are studied.The flow field is obtained by solving the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equation(RANS).The overset grid technique is employed to achieve the large-amplitude multiple-degree-of-freedom motion of the DRWT.The overall performance of the 5 MW single rotor wind turbine is determined by a numerical method.For the DRWTs,numerical results show that the surge motion and heave motion both have a negative effect on the power output of the DRWT.The surge motion is a critical factor that causes the power output of the DRWT to periodically change with motion.The average power output of the DRWT influenced by motion is lower than that of a DRWT with a fixed bottom.The surge motion significantly disturbs the wake of the DRWT due to the mutual interference between the upstream and downstream rotors.Under the influence of heave motion,low-velocity regions downstream of the blade tip are enhanced.This study indicates that attenuating the surge and heave motion of offshore DRWT is very significant for improving its efficiency and should be taken into consideration during the design procedure.