Title:	Simulation tool development for alternative off-shore wind turbines
DNr:	NAISS 2026/3-167
Project Type:	NAISS Medium
Principal Investigator:	Hans Bernhoff <hans.bernhoff@angstrom.uu.se>
Affiliation:	Uppsala universitet
Duration:	2026-03-30 – 2026-10-01
Classification:	20306
Keywords:

Abstract

The present project regards development and testing of simulation models for off-shore wind turbines. The models include actuator disc modeling (ADM) and actuator line modeling (ALM) to investigate the aerodynamic performance and wake interactions of non-traditional wind turbine concepts for offshore wind energy applications. The aim is to develop models that can predict and characterize power extraction, wake recovery, and spatial efficiency across diverse turbine designs. Fully resolved simulations are computationally expensive and not feasible for large-scale para-metric studies. The ADM is a static representation of turbine thrust and is well-suited for capturing the first-order momentum deficits induced by the turbines in the flow. The ALM is a transient representation that can capture the unsteady wake features and dynamic flow structures that develop. These modeling approaches enables efficient evaluation of design parameters while maintaining acceptable fidelity for early-stage concept evaluation. This study focuses on developing ADM and ALM that can be adapted to simulate a range of turbine configurations. For each model, we will systematically test relevant model parameters to ensure accurate representation of turbine aerodynamics. The work includes horizontal-, vertical-, and tilted axis turbine configurations. Vertical axis and tilted axis turbines are of specific interest because there are fewer examples of actuator disc models available for non-traditional designs. Furthermore, the work includes multi rotor arrangements of these turbine configurations. In addition, we aim to investigate farm scale layouts to assess turbine-turbine interactions and wake dynamics to study collective performance and flow behavior. This project contributes to the advancement of next-generation offshore wind technologies by providing improved models to investigate the aerodynamic performance of diverse wind turbine designs. The outcomes will be future high-fidelity simulations and experimental validations, ultimately supporting the design of more efficient, compact, and adaptable offshore wind farms.