Response of 5 MW Floating Wind Turbines to Combined Action of Wind and Rain

Abstract

For 5 MW floating wind turbines, the load response is significantly affected by wind and rain conditions. In order to reveal the relevant regularity of windblown rain and analyze the load response after being affected by the wind and rain, the rain phase is regarded as a continuous phase to be simulated. The self-compiled solver WARFoam (Wind and Rain Foam) is used to simulate the 5 MW wind turbines under wind and rain conditions. It is based on the Euler multiphase-model theory and the algorithm of unidirectional coupling of wind and rain. In this paper, the results of aerodynamic loads under WAR conditions are compared with the results of using the Lagrange particle-tracking model in order to prove that the Euler multiphase model can accurately calculate rain loads. On the basis of comparative verification, the convergence of the self-compiled solver is verified, which proves that the load-response analysis of the wind turbines under wind and rain conditions is accurate and efficient. The results show that rain has a significant impact on the load response of the wind turbines. Finally, the simulation results obtain the envelope diagram of the influence coefficient of rain-induced loads, which provides a quantitative reference standard for the calculation of the loads under wind and rain conditions.

Keywords

• simultaneous action of wind and rain
• Euler multiphase model
• load response
• envelope diagram
• OpenFoam