Offshore Wind Turbine Blade and Tower Loads Induced by Veer in Hurricane Wind Fields

The rapid growth of offshore wind energy in the United States offers the opportunity to study blade performance in hurricane-prone areas. For instance, the recent approval of the New England Wind project is in a hurricane cyclone zone off the coast of Massachusetts. In these regions, veer, which is defined as the variation of wind direction with height, may potentially impact turbine blade and tower loads. A large-eddy simulation (LES) from a previous study provides the wind characteristics during tropical cyclones in Category 1 hurricanes. The International Energy Agency (IEA) 15MW turbine is subjected to these hurricane wind characteristics. The blade loads are analyzed with particular attention paid to the role of wind veer on the loads. The result indicates up to 21% and 42% increase in the load because of veer on the tower and mudline, respectively.