Numerical study on aerodynamic and wake characteristics of floating offshore wind turbines under partial wake conditions

This study investigates the aerodynamic and wake characteristics of floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) under partial wake conditions using the fully coupled FOWT-UALM-SJTU solver. Atmospheric boundary layer inflow is generated via precursor simulations. Analysis of two turbines with varying lateral offsets reveals that while rotor-averaged inflow velocity increases with offset, inflow non-uniformity peaks under intermediate partial wake conditions. Consequently, the strongest unsteady aerodynamic responses occur when the rotor aligns with the transition region between the wake core and the free-stream. In this region, intensified wake meandering and non-uniformity lead to pronounced thrust and power fluctuations. Notably, the maximum normalized damage equivalent load is approximately 45% higher than that of the fully waked case. In terms of wake evolution, small offsets result in stronger wake superposition, deeper velocity deficits, higher turbulence-intensity peaks, and earlier blade-tip vortex breakdown, whereas large lateral offsets progressively weaken the upstream wake influence. At a 1 D offset, the upstream turbine's direct influence significantly diminishes. These findings offer critical insights into wake assessment and layout design for floating wind farms.