Coordinateurs du projet
Context
As part of the FLOATEOLE project, the LHEEA atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel will be used to reproduce the movements of two floating wind turbine models in order to study the consequences of these movements on the behavior of their interacting wakes.
It is in this context that the 3D4FLOATEOLE project, winner of the WEAMEC Small Equipment call for projects in 2020, aims to acquire a 3-degree-of-freedom displacement system to reproduce the movements of a floating wind turbine float in a wind tunnel.
Scientific breakthroughs and innovation
Accurate representation of the movements of the two floats requires the reproduction of movements with several degrees of freedom (in this case, three were deemed essential) while complying with the laws of similarity inherent in fluid flows. As the geometric reduction scale is particularly high in this case, each movement reproduction device must be capable of reproducing two translational movements and one rotational movement with very restrictive speed and acceleration specifications.
After consulting with suppliers, it was determined that no such device exists off-the-shelf and therefore requires a design and manufacturing/assembly phase. The acquisition of the first device is planned in the FLOATEOLE project. The budget allocated to the current 3D4FLOATEOLE project will allow for the acquisition of a second device.
Expected technical and economic impact
Experimental analysis of two interacting wakes from floating wind turbine models has never been carried out before and will provide answers to a number of questions about the need to develop dedicated wake models or whether wake models for fixed wind turbines are sufficient for studies of wind energy production in floating wind farms.
Results
The project enabled the installation of the 3D4 FLOATEOLE equipment in the LHEEA’s atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel.