WINTER 2025 OREGON STATE ENGINEERING 6 “The robotic arm, which is controlled by a computer running a wind turbine simulation, pushes and pulls the top of the tower and produces the same forces that a spinning turbine would,” Brekken said. “The rest of the system doesn’t ‘know’ that there isn’t a spinning turbine up there.” “The hybrid capability of combining physical testing with numerical computation will greatly benefit research for floating offshore wind, because it can drive down the cost of testing the structures,” Robertson said. During tests, however, the robotic arm was not able to adjust to the quickly changing motions of the system. Once funding for the next phase of the study becomes available, a more responsive robotic arm will be installed to improve the accuracy of the wave-wind-structure interactions. “We were able to show that it’s possible to accurately replicate the motion of the platforms — aerodynamic forces included — in what we would call operational sea and wind states, with predictable winds and predictable waves,” Robertson said. “But what we really need to determine is what happens in heavy seas, strong winds, or catastrophic failures, like if a mooring line breaks or a turbine blade snaps. That’s the kind of information that will drive the actual structural design of full-size platforms.” The floating turbines envisioned for the West Coast will be enormous. The platforms are likely to span 100 meters or more and weigh thousands of tons. Their masts will reach 150 meters tall, and each turbine blade will be longer than a football field. The structures will reside 20 to 30 miles offshore in tracts leased by the federal government; even at those grand heights, they will not be overtly visible from the mainland. Big and tall are desirable attributes for offshore wind turbines. The wind becomes more consistent as altitude increases, and the higher the blades reach, the more wind will hit them, which translates “The robotic arm, which is controlled by a computer running a wind turbine simulation, pushes and pulls the top of the tower and produces the same forces that a spinning turbine would. The rest of the system doesn’t ‘know’ that there isn’t a spinning turbine up there.” Ted Brekken, professor of electrical and computer engineering
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