Modeling and control of a scaled floating wind turbine system

Floating offshore wind turbines (FOWT) is a new technology,which is still in its developing stage. FOWT could be the solution in order to increase the possible construction areas, as they are more suitable for deeper waters. But the downside is that a floating foundation introduces additional dynamics to the system, which could lead to complex constructions and thereby decrease their cost/effectiveness. If the FOWT control systems take these dynamics into account it could minimize the impact of these and thereby increase the advancement
of FOWTs. Therefore in this project it is sought to develop a physical scaled model of a real wind turbine, which is able to be controlled similar to real wind turbine systems, this includes generator torque control and blade pitching control. The physical model must be constructed in order to test and verify these controlling methods. In this project the scaled nacelle of a wind turbine is designed and constructed, together with the power electronics. It is a 1:35 scaled model of the NREL 5 MW reference wind turbine. Furthermore blades are designed and constructed in order to match the scaled thrust force of the reference wind turbine. The dynamic models of the subsystems of the wind turbine are developed and controllers for them are designed. The controllers impact are simulated in simulink models of the subsystems.