a b s t r a c tFroude scaling is a generally reliable way to design models of floating wind turbines for wave basin testing. However, the resulting rotor thrust of the model is far lower than the Froude-scaled value of a full-size turbine, because the reduction in Reynolds number decreases the lift coefficients and increases the drag coefficients (the Reynolds number scaling effect). A 1/50th scale model wind turbine based on a NREL-5MW reference turbine is examined here. To mitigate the Reynolds number scaling effect in the model, the original aerofoils of the reference turbine (DU series and NACA 64-618) were replaced by an aerofoil at a low Reynolds number (NACA 4412). Such a model with aerofoil-adjusted blades was used in the mathematical optimization of rotor thrust. The design objective was to guarantee that while the rotor thrust of the model equalled the Froude-scaled rotor thrust of the reference, the smallest chord lengths were achieved, considering the weight control in building the model blade. The distribution of chord lengths fitted a fourth-order polynomial curve, and the distribution of twist angles along the blade fitted a second-order polynomial curve. The eight coefficients of the two curves were chosen as optimization variables, and pattern search method was used to solve the optimization model. The model blade was designed at zero pitch angle and further tested in FAST, a fully coupled simulation tool. A model test was conducted using the optimized blade geometry in the State Key Laboratory of Ocean Engineering in Shanghai, China, and the thrusts were compared with the predicted values.

A low-order panel method is used to predict the performance of ducted propellers. A full wake alignment (FWA) scheme, originally developed to determine the location of the force-free trailing wake of open propellers, is improved and extended to determine the location of the force-free trailing wakes of both the propeller blades and the duct, including the interaction with each other. The present method is applied on a ducted propeller with sharp trailing edge duct, and the predicted results over a wide range of advance ratios, with or without full alignment of the duct wake, are compared with each other, as well as with results from RANS simulations and with measurements from an experiment.

The floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) is widely used for harvesting marine wind energy. Its dynamic responses under offshore wind and wave environment provide essential reference for the design and installation. In this study, the dynamic responses of a 6MW Spar type FOWT designed for the water depth of 100 m are investigated by means of the wave tank experiment and numerical analysis. A scaled model is manufactured for the experiment at a ratio of 65.3, while the numerical model is constructed on the open-source platform FAST (Fatigue, Aerodynamics, Structures, and Turbulence). Still water tests, wind-induced only tests, wave-induced only tests and combined windwave-current tests are all conducted experimentally and numerically. The accuracy of the experimental set-up as well as the loading generation has been verified. Surge, pitch and heave motions are selected to analyze and the numerical results agree well with the experimental values. Even though results obtained by using the FOWT calculation model established in FAST software show some deviations from the test results, the trends are always consistent. Both experimental and numerical studies demonstrate that they are reliable for the designed 6MW Spar type FOWT.

The panel method does not apply to hydrofoils, propellers and ducts with blunt trailing edges due to the flow separation downstream. In this paper, a model is proposed to represent the flow separation with an extension, and a low-order panel method coupled with a boundary layer solver is used. The criteria of zero lift and zero moment are adopted to determine the end of the extension zone, and flow separation criteria are used to determine the starting points on either side of the section. The model is applied to hydrofoil, bare duct and ducted propeller sections with blunt trailing edges. The pressure distributions and skin frictions along the hydrofoils and ducts correlate well with those from the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes method. The thrust and torque of the propeller agree much better with experimental measurements when the extension is determined from this model rather than choosing random locations. This model requires much less computational effort while preserving high accuracy, and thus can be used reliably in designing and analysing hydrofoils and propeller ducts with blunt trailing edges.

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