MOST - MatLab for OFWT Simulation Tools
MOST, the ultimate tool released by MORE Lab for OFWT.
Introduction of Tool
MOST, Matlab OFWT Simulation Tool, can be considered a wind-to-power model including all the components of an OFWT (floating platform and hydrodynamics, wind turbine and aerodynamics, electric generator and its control law). It can be considered as a new comprehensive modelling tool for the planning and design phase of offshore floating wind turbine projects. In order to enable high adaptability and flexibility of use of the tool, it is realized on the programming language MATLAB- Simulink, which, thanks to its intuitive structure and user friendliness, makes the tool easily programmable and editable.
Why to use MOST
MOST, due to its higher flexibility and accessibility, can be considered an alternative to current OFWT simulation tools, which are characterised by a low accessibility because of their complex background code.
The choice to develop a model on MATLAB-Simulink was driven by the greater simplicity in setting the inputs and by a more intuitive structure. With MOST it is possible to modify the simulation parameters directly from the user interface, observing each step of the simulation and understanding the process of moving from inputs to outputs. In addition, since the original goal of this work was to optimize the geometrical dimensions of different platforms and verify their performances, MOST was developed with a particular view at the versatility in dealing with different floating platforms.
MOST manages to faithfully reproduce the FAST outcomes (considered the reference software for the simulation of OFWT, released by NREL), resulting in RMSE (Root Mean Square Error) on position and output power lower than 2%.
Tool for OFWT
Cottura, L.; Caradonna, R.; Ghigo, A.; Novo, R.; Bracco, G.; Mattiazzo, G. Dynamic Modeling of an Offshore Floating Wind Turbine for Application in the Mediterranean Sea. Energies 2021, 14, 248. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14010248