The Role of Fully Coupled Computational Fluid Dynamics for Floating Wind Applications: A Review

Following the operational success of the Hywind Scotland, Kincardine, WindFloat Atlantic, and Hywind Tampen floating wind farms, the floating offshore wind industry is expected to play a critical role in the global clean energy transition. However, there is still significant work needed in optimizing the design and implementation of floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) to justify the widespread adoption of this technology and ensure that it is commercially viable compared to other more-established renewable energy technologies. The present review explores the application of fully coupled computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling approaches for achieving the cost reductions and design confidence necessary for floating wind to fully establish itself as a reliable and practical renewable energy technology. In particular, using these models to better understand and predict the highly nonlinear and integrated environmental loading on FOWT systems and the resulting dynamic responses prior to full-scale implementation is of increased importance.