Hybrid Testing of Wind Turbine Components

During his PhD studies, Frederik Nordtorp researched hybrid testing, with a focus on the testing of wind turbine components. Wind turbines and other large mechanical systems are challenged by current testing methods because they are becoming increasingly large and complex.

In hybrid testing, one part of the system is tested physically in the laboratory, while the rest is simulated on a computer. This makes it possible to investigate how a component behaves while also accounting for its interaction with the surrounding system. The thesis focuses on three central parts of the method: how the computer model is formulated, how the laboratory test and the simulation are coupled, and how the test can be controlled in real time. Each step has been evaluated through hybrid testing experiments.

The thesis is intended as a contribution to future hybrid testing of wind turbines and other large mechanical systems.

The PhD study was completed at Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University.

This summary was prepared by the PhD student.

Time: Friday, 23 October 2026 at 11:00 
Place: 03.070, Inge Lehmanns Gade 10, Navitas , Aarhus University, , 
Title of PhD thesis: Hybrid Testing of Multibody Dynamic Systems: Modeling, Coordination, and Real-Time Control
Contact information: Frederik Nordtorp, e-mail: fnk@cae.au.dk, tel.: +45 25345083
Members of the assessment committee:
Associate Professor Jan Becker Høgsberg, Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, DTU, Denmark
Professor Alessandro Croce, Department of Aerospace Science and Technology, Politecnico de Milano, Italy
Associate Professor Massimo Fiorentini (chair), Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Aarhus University, Denmark
Main supervisor: Associate Professor Giuseppe Abbiati, Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Aarhus University, Denmark
Co-supervisor: Associate Professor Cláudio Gomes, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aarhus University, Denmark
Language: The PhD dissertation will be defended in English

The defence is public.
The PhD thesis is available for reading at the Graduate School of Technical Sciences/GSTS, Ny Munkegade 120, building 1521, 8000 Aarhus C.