With the ever-increasing demand for renewable energy sources, the importance of cost efficiency and lifetime assessment of offshore wind turbines has increased significantly. In structural design, the assessment of hydrodynamic loads is usually based on simplified analytical methods. The determination of the resistance and inertia coefficients involved often originates from investigations in small to medium-sized test turbines, which are susceptible to economies of scale. Furthermore, the steel support structures are additionally stressed by immersion in salt water, which is primarily due to colonisation by marine growth. Due to these significant effects and the only superficial understanding of interactions between waves, currents and vegetation, improved experimental methods for investigating marine growth in realistic scenarios are urgently required. However, experimental facilities of this size and with these capabilities are not available. To meet this critical need, the SWS channel was carefully designed and built. The state-of-the-art facility enables studies with living marine organisms by ensuring important aquatic parameters in a controlled hydraulic experimental environment.
