A study on the dynamic characteristics of alternative arrangements of floating wind farms with varying hub heights

Wind farms with multiple hub heights have the potential to effectively mitigate velocity deficits resulting from wake effects and reduce the levelized cost of energy (LCOE). While existing research has predominantly focused on studying wake effects on floating wind farms with identical hub heights, there is a notable absence of research on floating wind farms with multiple hub heights. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the impact of vertical arrangements on floating wind farms is essential. In light of this gap, this study examines the characteristics of two distinct arrangements of a semi-submersible floating wind farm with multiple hub heights. The configuration includes two 15 MW semi-submersible floating offshore wind turbines (FOWT) and two 5 MW semi-submersible FOWTs. A novel wind farm modeling tool utilizing dynamic wake meandering (DWM) is employed to investigate the power production performance, wake characteristics, global dynamic responses, and fatigue damage of crucial components of each individual FWT, associated with the two different arrangements. The paper presents a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of the two arrangements, accompanied by a summary of the key findings. The insights gained from this research can serve as a foundational basis for improving the design and analysis processes of floating wind farms with various arrangements. • Numerical models of wind farm simulations are established using the state-of-the-art tools. • Wake effects on the vertical staggered wind farm arrangement are analyzed. • Characteristics of different vertical arrangements are considered from various dynamic performance aspects. • A concise and robust comparison result is given, which is useful for optimizing the wind farm layout with multiple hub heights.