Fluid–structure interaction simulation of the effect of static yaw control on the aerodynamic responses and wake characteristics of floating offshore wind turbines

As an effective strategy for optimizing wind farm performance, static yaw control has been widely demonstrated to optimize fixed-bottom wind turbines (FBWTs). However, its impact on floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) remains unexplored. In this study, the aerodynamic responses and wake characteristics of FOWTs under four yaw angles and four wind speeds are investigated, and the effects of turbine types and spacing between turbines are also studied. The combination of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software SOWFA and turbine simulation tool OpenFAST implements fluid–structure interaction (FSI) calculations. The effects of yaw control on FOWTs are analyzed by examining rotor power, fatigue loads, platform motion, wake velocity deficit, and vortex structures. The results indicate that, compared to FBWTs, FOWTs inherently have a lower wake velocity deficit, and the platform motion responses weaken the effects of yaw control, resulting in less pronounced power enhancement than in FBWTs. Specifically, FOWTs achieve only a 1.75% power enhancement at the optimal yaw angle, which is significantly lower than the 5.62% power enhancement achieved by FBWTs at the optimal yaw angle. The effect of yaw control on total rotor power varies across different wind speed conditions. Although yaw control does not alter the frequency spectrum of rotor power, the associated increase in fatigue loads suggests that it is beneficial at lower speeds but should be avoided at higher speeds.