Design of an aeroelastic physical model of the DTU 10MW wind turbine for a floating offshore multipurpose platform prototype

Multi-purpose offshore structures are very complex systems to be designed as many different requirements have to be taken into account simultaneously. Experimental tests on scaled models can be very useful to verify structural behavior and to validate numerical models. The definition of the scale can play a key role in performing tests as high scales, closer to full-scale, are generally related to more reliable results. The present paper concerns the design of a wind turbine model for a large-scale model of a Multi-purpose offshore Platform developed within the EU project H2020 Blue Growth Farm. This project aims at developing an offshore farm, based on a modular floating structure that integrates wave energy converters and a wind turbine with aquaculture. The scale model of the complete structure will be deployed at the Natural Ocean Engineering Laboratory (NOEL). The paper will focus on the strategies adopted to scale 1:15 the DTU 10 MW wind turbine in order to represent both the main aeroelastic features and all the functionalities of a real machine. The complete design of the machine and its control will be also provided. •The present work was developed within the EU H2020 project ‘The Blue Growth Farm’.•The aim of the project is the design of a multi-purpose platform for offshore applications, equipped with a wind turbine.•A large outdoor scaled model of a wind turbine is completely designed.•Typical scaling procedure were adopted to obtain an aeroelastic model for a natural laboratory.•The outdoor scaled model was verified from structural and mechatronic point of view.•Control strategies for the outdoor scaled model were provided.