Review of model experimental methods focusing on aerodynamic simulation of floating offshore wind turbines

Model experiments to investigate floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) must account for the aerodynamic loads on the wind turbines, hydrodynamic loads on the platforms, and the coupling between them. However, the aerodynamic loads must satisfy the Reynolds scaling law, whereas the hydrodynamic loads must satisfy the Froude scaling law. Nevertheless, these scaling laws cannot be satisfied simultaneously. At present, the FOWT models used in the experiments satisfy the Froude scaling law. The primary challenge in the experiments is the accurate simulation of the aerodynamic loads under the Froude scaling law. There are primarily two methods to solve this problem: One is based on the physical model in a wave basin, where the aerodynamic loads under the Froude scaling law are obtained by equivalent treatment. The second method is based on the real-time hybrid model, which uses numerical simulation to replace the actual aerodynamic or hydrodynamic loads to solve the scaling law conflict. The development status, characteristics, and limitations of these methods, along with their comparisons are reviewed in detail herein. Finally, suggestions are provided for future development of model experimental methods for FOWTs.