Idealized Offshore Low‐Level Jets for Turbine Structural Impact Considerations

ABSTRACT Low‐level jets (LLJs) describe conditions in which the wind speed reaches a local maximum with respect to altitude near the surface; they have been observed intermittently in the US mid‐Atlantic offshore environment. LLJs pose unique operating conditions for future wind turbines operating in the region, such as negative shear and locally strong veer, but they are not typically considered in existing turbine standards. This work builds upon recent research that explains the formation and evolution of the US mid‐Atlantic LLJs through a simple analytical governing equation. We generate several LLJ inflow conditions with varying jet characteristics based on this analytical model and create monotonically sheared (MS) analogues with matched veer to assess the impacts of the LLJ on turbine performance and loading. Using aeroelastic simulations with these inflow conditions on the International Energy Agency 15‐MW reference turbine, we find that the LLJ leads to a greater range of tower‐top pitching and yawing moments, which could contribute to larger accumulated structural fatigue in components compared to MS inflow. These preliminary results demonstrate a path toward a unified set of test cases for low‐level wind maxima that can inform the International Electrotechnical Commission standards related to offshore wind turbine design.