Numerical Analysis, Field Testing and Experimental Assessment of Offshore Wind Turbines

Dear Colleagues,

Although offshore wind turbines (OWTs) have seen rapid growth in the past decade, the further development of these structures to reduce the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) needs proper experimental and numerical analysis and thorough field assessment. Therefore, research-driven developments to explore new concepts/structures, testing methodology, numerical modelling tools and simulation methods are required.

Offshore wind turbines are subject to complicated loads and load effects, which demand the comprehensive numerical modelling representation of physics. Important factors affecting the design, functionality, structural integrity and performance of offshore wind turbines include—but are not limited to—fluid–structure interaction, controller actions, intense dynamic effects, non-linear loadings, extreme and harsh weather conditions, and impact pressure loads. The interdependence between loads, load effects and structural strength requires more advanced numerical tools, nonlinear modelling and innovative testing procedures.

We invite researchers and scientists to contribute original research articles that will stimulate the continuing progress of the OWTs field, with a focus on state-of-the-art numerical modelling and the experimental assessment of offshore wind engineering. We are particularly interested in articles describing new methodologies, analytical and numerical tools, as well as theoretical methods dealing with engineering problems. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Innovative experimental methods
• Scaling and scale effects
• Statistical methods and environmental resource assessment
• Wind, wave and current interactions
• Comprehensive handling of engineering problems, in particular, design aspects
• Numerical methods for structural and fluid dynamics
• Computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
• Finite element methods (FEM)
• Fluid–structure interaction (FSI)
• Aero-hydro-servo-geo-elastic models for fixed and floating offshore wind turbines
• Automatic control methods applied for OWTs engineering problems
• Robust nonlinear models for fast simulation
• Comprehensive numerical methods for high-fidelity simulation of behaviour and functionality
• Verification and validation, code-to-code comparison, as well as experiments
• Insight into the philosophy and power of numerical simulations
• Nonlinearities in physical systems and numerical models
• Coupled effects between floater and mooring system
• Soil–structure interaction
• Higher order wave loads and responses
• Field and laboratory testing and experimental procedures

Dr. Madjid Karimirad
Dr. Amy Robertson
Guest Editors

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