Offshore floating vertical axis wind turbines, dynamics modelling state of the art. part I: Aerodynamics

The need to further exploit offshore wind resources has pushed offshore wind farms into deeper waters, requiring the use of floating support structures to be economically sustainable. The use of conventional wind turbines may not continue to be the optimal design for floating applications. Therefore it is important to assess other alternative concepts in this context. Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) are one promising concept, and it is important to first understand the coupled and relatively complex dynamics of floating VAWTs to assess their technical feasibility. A comprehensive review detailing the areas of engineering expertise utilised in developing an understanding of the coupled dynamics of floating VAWTs has been developed through a series of articles. This first article details the aerodynamic modelling of VAWTs, providing a review of available models, discussing their applicability to floating VAWTs and current implementations by researchers in this field. A concise comparison between conventional horizontal axis wind turbines and VAWTs is also presented, outlining the advantages and disadvantages of these technologies for the floating wind industry. This article has been written both for researchers new to this research area, outlining underlying theory whilst providing a comprehensive review of the latest work, and for experts in this area, providing a comprehensive list of the relevant references where the details of modelling approaches may be found. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.