New wavetank library for HIL simulations with AD+MD

[andrew-platt]

Ready for merging

Feature or improvement description
The WaveTank glue-code is an experimental code for coupling hardware-in-the-loop MHK models in a wavetank to software simulating the MHK turbine loads that cannot be physically modeled in the wave tank. The OpenFAST modules SeaState, AeroDyn, MoorDyn, and InflowWind are statically linked into a single dynamic library (cmake target wavetanktesting_c_binding) with a c-binding based interface. This library can be called from LabView or another code.

Related issue, if one exists
#2720
#2735

Impacted areas of the software
Updates to following modules and interfaces:

• AeroDyn_Inflow_C_Binding library
  • Improved internal memory handling during Init
• HydroDyn
  • fix broken error handling in HydroDyn_CalcOutput routine
• MoorDyn_C_Binding library
• SeaState_C_Binding library
  • use TMax instead of number of timesteps
  • revised argument order in Init
  • WaveTimeShift for advancing wavefield in time (cannot delay)
  • direct string passing of some path/filenames instead of pointers
• pyOpenFAST
  • Updates to match SeaState changes
  • new tdmslib.py for reading tdms files from LabView
• NWTC_Library
  • ability to set CU to a different value for writing to file instead of output to screen (used with LabView)

Incomplete items and limitations

• LabView example is not functional
• No Visual Studio build process exists yet

Additional supporting information
This code is still a work in progress and should not be considered usable for generic cases.

Test results, if applicable
New test cases:

• glue-codes/openfast/MHK_RM1_Floating_Tank-scaled - 1/49th scale version of the MHK_RM1_Floating case. This is a reference case.
• glue-codes/other/py_wavetank_test1 - 1/49th scale version of the MHK_RM1_Floating case using Python to call the wavetank library. Prescribed motion from a wave tank simulation of the RM1 is used as the motion input. This case can be used as a template

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

This PR introduces a new wavetank library for Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) simulations integrating AeroDyn (AD), MoorDyn (MD), and SeaState (SS) modules. The changes enable wave tank testing capabilities with phase-shifted wave fields for hybrid testing scenarios.

Key changes:

• Added WaveTimeShift parameter to SeaState for phase-shifting wave fields in tank testing
• Converted CU (console unit) from parameter to variable to support output redirection to files (LabView integration)
• Refactored C-binding interfaces for SeaState, MoorDyn, and AeroDyn to support static linking for wavetank library
• Added Python interface and test infrastructure for wavetank functionality

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 58 out of 60 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
requirements.txt	Added nptdms package for TDMS file reading
modules/seastate/src/*.f90	Added WaveTimeShift parameter and updated C-binding interface
modules/moordyn/src/*.f90	Improved error handling and C-binding updates
modules/nwtc-library/src/Sys*.f90	Changed CU from parameter to public variable with SetConsoleUnit
modules/aerodyn/src/*.f90	Updated C-binding interface and VTK timing logic
glue-codes/python/pyOpenFAST/*.py	Added wavetank testing interface and TDMS library support
glue-codes/labview/src/*.f90	New wavetank structural model and interface code

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (3)

modules/seastate/src/SeaState_Types.f90:1

• The default value initialization uses integer 0 instead of double precision 0.0_DbKi. This should be 0.0_DbKi to match the type declaration.
  modules/seastate/src/SeaSt_WaveField_Types.f90:1
• The default value initialization uses integer 0 instead of double precision 0.0_R8Ki. This should be 0.0_R8Ki to match the type declaration.
  reg_tests/executeWavetankPyRegressionCase.py:1
• The help text mentions 'InflowWind driver executable' but the metavar is 'WaveTank-Python', which is confusing and inconsistent with the actual purpose.

---

💡 Add Copilot custom instructions for smarter, more guided reviews. Learn how to get started.

[deslaughter]

I think this looks good, impressive work!