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Wake interactions of two tandem floating offshore wind turbines: CFD analysis using actuator disc model

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  • Rezaeiha, Abdolrahim
  • Micallef, Daniel

Abstract

Floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) have received great attention for deep water wind energy harvesting. So far, research has been focused on a single floating rotor. However, for final deployment of FOWT farms, interactions of multiple FOWTs and potential impacts of the floating motion on power performance and wake of the rotors need to be investigated. In this study, we employ CFD coupled with an Actuator Disc model to analyze interactions of two tandem FOWTs for the scenario, where the upstream rotor is floating with a prescribed surge motion and the downstream rotor is fixed and influenced by the variations in the incoming flow created by the oscillating motion of the surging rotor. We will investigate three different surge amplitudes and analyze the fluctuations in power performance of the two rotors as well as their wake interactions. The results show a light increase in the mean power coefficient of both rotors for the surging case, compared against the case with no surge motion. The standard deviation of the transient CP of the surging rotor linearly scales with the surge amplitude, while such impact for the downstream rotor is very limited. Surging motion of the upstream rotor is found to enhance flow mixing in the wake, which therefore, accelerates the wake recovery of the downstream rotor. This finding suggests prospects for research into redesigning wind farm layout for FOWTs, aiming for more compact arrangements.

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  • Rezaeiha, Abdolrahim & Micallef, Daniel, 2021. "Wake interactions of two tandem floating offshore wind turbines: CFD analysis using actuator disc model," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 859-876.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:179:y:2021:i:c:p:859-876
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2021.07.087
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    Cited by:

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    7. Arabgolarcheh, Alireza & Micallef, Daniel & Rezaeiha, Abdolrahim & Benini, Ernesto, 2023. "Modelling of two tandem floating offshore wind turbines using an actuator line model," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    8. Micallef, Daniel & Rezaeiha, Abdolrahim, 2021. "Floating offshore wind turbine aerodynamics: Trends and future challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    9. Hidetaka Senga & Hiroki Umemoto & Hiromichi Akimoto, 2022. "Verification of Tilt Effect on the Performance and Wake of a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine by Lifting Line Theory Simulation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-17, September.
    10. Yang, Lin & Liao, Kangping & Ma, Qingwei & Ma, Gang & Sun, Hanbing, 2023. "Investigation of wake characteristics of floating offshore wind turbine with control strategy using actuator curve embedding method," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    11. Zhang, Lijun & Li, Ye & Xu, Wenhao & Gao, Zhiteng & Fang, Long & Li, Rongfu & Ding, Boyin & Zhao, Bin & Leng, Jun & He, Fenglan, 2022. "Systematic analysis of performance and cost of two floating offshore wind turbines with significant interactions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 321(C).
    12. Wang, Tengyuan & Cai, Chang & Liu, Junbo & Peng, Chaoyi & Wang, Yibo & Sun, Xiangyu & Zhong, Xiaohui & Zhang, Jingjing & Li, Qingan, 2024. "Wake characteristics and vortex structure evolution of floating offshore wind turbine under surge motion," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 302(C).
    13. Li, YuanTso & Yu, Wei & Sarlak, Hamid, 2025. "Wake interaction of dual surging FOWT rotors in tandem," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(C).
    14. Mian, H.H. & Machot, F.A. & Ullah, H. & Keprate, A. & Siddiqui, M.S., 2025. "Advances in computational intelligence for floating offshore wind turbines aerodynamics: Current state review and future potential," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    15. Liu, Songyang & Xin, Zhiqiang & Wang, Lei & Xu, Yanming & Cai, Zhiming, 2025. "Fluid–structure interaction simulation of the effect of static yaw control on the aerodynamic responses and wake characteristics of floating offshore wind turbines," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 330(C).
    16. Amiri, Mojtaba Maali & Shadman, Milad & Estefen, Segen F., 2024. "A review of physical and numerical modeling techniques for horizontal-axis wind turbine wakes," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    17. Wang, Tengyuan & Cai, Chang & Wang, Xinbao & Wang, Zekun & Chen, Yewen & Song, Juanjuan & Xu, Jianzhong & Zhang, Yuning & Li, Qingan, 2023. "A new Gaussian analytical wake model validated by wind tunnel experiment and LiDAR field measurements under different turbulent flow," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 271(C).
    18. Fan, Shuanglong & Liu, Zhenqing, 2025. "Experimental investigation of pitch and surge motion effects on wake characteristics of a floating offshore wind turbine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 331(C).
    19. Arabgolarcheh, Alireza & Rouhollahi, Amirhossein & Benini, Ernesto, 2023. "Analysis of middle-to-far wake behind floating offshore wind turbines in the presence of multiple platform motions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 546-560.
    20. Cai, Yefeng & Zhao, Haisheng & Li, Xin & Liu, Yuanchuan, 2023. "Aerodynamic analysis for different operating states of floating offshore wind turbine induced by pitching movement," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).

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