An experimental study on the near wake characteristics of a wind turbine model subjected to surge, pitch, and heave motions

..............................................................................................................................v CHAPTER 1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION .....................................................................1 1.1 Offshore Wind Energy ...................................................................................................1 1.2 Atmospheric Physics ......................................................................................................7 1.3 Literature Review .........................................................................................................11 1.4 Motivations for the Current Research ..........................................................................14 1.5 Thesis Organization ......................................................................................................16 CHAPTER 2 A STUDY OF THE NEAR WAKE CHARACTERISTICS OF A WIND TURBINE MODEL SUBJECTED TO SURGE, PITCH, AND HEAVE MOTIONS ..........17 2.