Search Results (3)

In this study, we validated a wind-turbine parameterisation for large-eddy simulation (LES) of yawed wind-turbine wakes. The presented parameterisation is modified from the rotational actuator disk model (ADMR), which takes account of both thrust and tangential forces induced by a wind turbine based on the blade-element theory. LES results using the yawed ADMR were validated with wind-tunnel measurements of the wakes behind a stand-alone miniature wind turbine model with different yaw angles. Comparisons were also made with the predictions of analytical wake models. In general, LES results using the yawed ADMR are in good agreement with both wind-tunnel measurements and analytical wake models regarding wake deflections and spanwise profiles of the mean velocity deficit and the turbulence intensity. Moreover, the power output of the yawed wind turbine is directly computed from the tangential forces resolved by the yawed ADMR, in contrast with the indirect power estimation used in the standard actuator disk model. We found significant improvement in the power prediction from LES using the yawed ADMR over the simulations using the standard actuator disk without rotation, suggesting a good potential of the yawed ADMR to be applied in LES studies of active yaw control in wind farms. Full article

The reduction in power output associated with complex turbine-wake interactions in wind farms necessitates the development of effective wake mitigation strategies. One approach to this end entails the downregulation of individual turbines from its maximum power point with the objective of optimizing the overall wind farm productivity. Downregulation via blade pitch offset has been of interest as a potential strategy, though the viability of this method is still not clear, especially in regard to its sensitivity to ambient turbulence. In this study, large-eddy simulations of a two-turbine arrangement, with the second turbine in the full wake of the first, were performed. The effects of varying the blade pitch angle of the upstream turbine on its wake characteristics, as well as the combined power of the two, were investigated. Of specific interest was the effect of turbulence intensity of the inflow on the efficacy of this method. Results showed enhanced wake recovery associated with pitching to stall, as opposed to pitching to feather, which delayed wake recovery. The increased wake recovery resulted in a noticeable increase in the power of the two-turbine configuration, only in conditions characterized by low turbulence in the incoming flow. Nevertheless, the low turbulence scenarios where the use of this method is favorable, are expected in realistic wind farms, suggesting its possible application for improved power generation. Full article

In this study, large-eddy simulations (LESs) were performed to investigate the effects of changing wind direction on the turbine wakes and associated power losses in the Horns Rev offshore wind farm. In the LES framework, the turbulent subgrid-scale stresses are parameterized using a tuning-free Lagrangian scale-dependent dynamic model, and the turbine-induced forces are computed using a dynamic actuator-disk model with rotation (ADM-R). This dynamic ADM-R couples blade-element theory with a turbine-specific relation between the blade angular velocity and the shaft torque to compute simultaneously turbine angular velocity and power output. A total of 67 simulations were performed for a wide range of wind direction angles. Results from the simulations show a strong impact of wind direction on the spatial distribution of turbine-wake characteristics, such as velocity deficit and turbulence intensity. This can be explained by the fact that changing the wind angle can be viewed as changing the wind farm layout relative to the incoming wind, while keeping the same wind turbine density. Of particular importance is the effect of wind direction on the distance available for the wakes to recover and expand before encountering other downwind turbines (in full-wake or partial-wake interactions), which affects the power losses from those turbines. As a result, even small changes in wind direction angle can have strong impacts on the total wind farm power output. For example, a change in wind direction of just 10° from the worst-case full-wake condition is found to increase the total power output by as much as 43%. This has important implications for the design of wind farms and the management of the temporal variability of their power output. Full article