IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v12y2018i1p83-d193669.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Comparative Computational Fluid Dynamic Study on the Effects of Terrain Type on Hub-Height Wind Aerodynamic Properties

Author

Listed:
  • Akintayo T. Abolude

    (School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 00852, China)

  • Wen Zhou

    (Guy Carpenter Asia–Pacific Climate Impact Center, School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 00852, China)

Abstract

The increased adoption of wind power has generated global discourse in wind energy meteorology. Studies based on turbine performances show a deviation of actual output from power curve output, thereby yielding errors irrespective of the turbine site. Understanding the cause of these errors is essential for wind power optimization, thus necessitating investigation into site-specific effects on turbine performance and operation. Therefore, Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations of hub-height wind aerodynamic properties were conducted based on the k-ε turbulence closure model Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes equations for three terrains. To isolate terrain-induced effects, the same 40 m above mean sea level wind climatology was imposed on all three terrains. For the four wind directions considered, turbulence intensity (TI) was least in the offshore terrain at about 5–7% but ranged considerably higher from 4–18% for the coastal and island terrain. TI on crests also increased significantly by up to 15% upstream of wind direction for the latter terrains. Inflow angle ranged from −15° to +15° in both coastal and island terrains but remained at <+1° in the offshore terrain. Hellman exponent increased from between factors of 2–4 in the other two terrains relative to that of the offshore terrain. Wind speed-up varied from about 1.06–1.13, accounting for a range of 17–30% difference in power output from a hypothetical operational 2 MW turbine output placed in the three different terrains. Turbine loading, fatigue, efficiency, and life cycle can also be impacted by the variations noted. While adopting a site-specific power curve may help minimize errors and losses, collecting these aerodynamic data alongside wind speed and direction is the future for wind power optimization under big data and machine learning.

Suggested Citation

  • Akintayo T. Abolude & Wen Zhou, 2018. "A Comparative Computational Fluid Dynamic Study on the Effects of Terrain Type on Hub-Height Wind Aerodynamic Properties," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2018:i:1:p:83-:d:193669
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/1/83/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/1/83/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shakoor, Rabia & Hassan, Mohammad Yusri & Raheem, Abdur & Wu, Yuan-Kang, 2016. "Wake effect modeling: A review of wind farm layout optimization using Jensen׳s model," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1048-1059.
    2. Gao, Xiaoxia & Yang, Hongxing & Lu, Lin, 2014. "Study on offshore wind power potential and wind farm optimization in Hong Kong," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 519-531.
    3. Dhunny, A.Z. & Lollchund, M.R. & Rughooputh, S.D.D.V., 2017. "Wind energy evaluation for a highly complex terrain using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 1-9.
    4. Yimei Wang & Yongqian Liu & Li Li & David Infield & Shuang Han, 2018. "Short-Term Wind Power Forecasting Based on Clustering Pre-Calculated CFD Method," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-19, April.
    5. Zanon, Alessandro & De Gennaro, Michele & Kühnelt, Helmut, 2018. "Wind energy harnessing of the NREL 5 MW reference wind turbine in icing conditions under different operational strategies," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 760-772.
    6. Whale, J. & McHenry, M.P. & Malla, A., 2013. "Scheduling and conducting power performance testing of a small wind turbine," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 55-61.
    7. Jafarian, M. & Ranjbar, A.M., 2010. "Fuzzy modeling techniques and artificial neural networks to estimate annual energy output of a wind turbine," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 2008-2014.
    8. Lubitz, William David, 2014. "Impact of ambient turbulence on performance of a small wind turbine," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 69-73.
    9. Cetinay, Hale & Kuipers, Fernando A. & Guven, A. Nezih, 2017. "Optimal siting and sizing of wind farms," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 51-58.
    10. Yan, Shu & Shi, Shaoping & Chen, Xinming & Wang, Xiaodong & Mao, Linzhi & Liu, Xiaojie, 2018. "Numerical simulations of flow interactions between steep hill terrain and large scale wind turbine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 740-747.
    11. Farrugia, R.N., 2003. "The wind shear exponent in a Mediterranean island climate," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 647-653.
    12. A.Z. Dhunny & M.R. Lollchund & S.D.D.V. Rughooputh, 2016. "Numerical analysis of wind flow patterns over complex hilly terrains: comparison between two commonly used CFD software," International Journal of Global Energy Issues, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 39(3/4), pages 181-203.
    13. Takanori Uchida, 2018. "LES Investigation of Terrain-Induced Turbulence in Complex Terrain and Economic Effects of Wind Turbine Control," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-15, June.
    14. Bilal, Muhammad & Birkelund, Yngve & Homola, Matthew & Virk, Muhammad Shakeel, 2016. "Wind over complex terrain – Microscale modelling with two types of mesoscale winds at Nygårdsfjell," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 647-653.
    15. Akintayo Temiloluwa Abolude & Wen Zhou, 2018. "Assessment and Performance Evaluation of a Wind Turbine Power Output," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-15, August.
    16. Jan Konopka & António Lopes & Andreas Matzarakis, 2018. "An Original Approach Combining CFD, Linearized Models, and Deformation of Trees for Urban Wind Power Assessment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-24, June.
    17. Shu, Z.R. & Li, Q.S. & He, Y.C. & Chan, P.W., 2016. "Observations of offshore wind characteristics by Doppler-LiDAR for wind energy applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 150-163.
    18. Staffell, Iain & Green, Richard, 2014. "How does wind farm performance decline with age?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 775-786.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Akintayo Temiloluwa Abolude & Wen Zhou, 2018. "Assessment and Performance Evaluation of a Wind Turbine Power Output," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-15, August.
    2. KC, Anup & Whale, Jonathan & Urmee, Tania, 2019. "Urban wind conditions and small wind turbines in the built environment: A review," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 268-283.
    3. Pollini, Nicolò, 2022. "Topology optimization of wind farm layouts," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 1015-1027.
    4. Radünz, William Corrêa & Mattuella, Jussara M. Leite & Petry, Adriane Prisco, 2020. "Wind resource mapping and energy estimation in complex terrain: A framework based on field observations and computational fluid dynamics," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 494-515.
    5. Ren, Guorui & Wan, Jie & Liu, Jinfu & Yu, Daren, 2019. "Characterization of wind resource in China from a new perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 994-1010.
    6. Gao, Xiaoxia & Chen, Yao & Xu, Shinai & Gao, Wei & Zhu, Xiaoxun & Sun, Haiying & Yang, Hongxing & Han, Zhonghe & Wang, Yu & Lu, Hao, 2022. "Comparative experimental investigation into wake characteristics of turbines in three wind farms areas with varying terrain complexity from LiDAR measurements," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 307(C).
    7. He, J.Y. & Chan, P.W. & Li, Q.S. & Huang, Tao & Yim, Steve Hung Lam, 2024. "Assessment of urban wind energy resource in Hong Kong based on multi-instrument observations," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    8. Guirguis, David & Romero, David A. & Amon, Cristina H., 2017. "Gradient-based multidisciplinary design of wind farms with continuous-variable formulations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 279-291.
    9. Nie, Bingchuan & Li, Jiachun, 2018. "Technical potential assessment of offshore wind energy over shallow continent shelf along China coast," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 128(PA), pages 391-399.
    10. Ma, Jinrui & Fouladirad, Mitra & Grall, Antoine, 2018. "Flexible wind speed generation model: Markov chain with an embedded diffusion process," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 316-328.
    11. Lydia, M. & Kumar, S. Suresh & Selvakumar, A. Immanuel & Prem Kumar, G. Edwin, 2014. "A comprehensive review on wind turbine power curve modeling techniques," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 452-460.
    12. Sun, Haiying & Yang, Hongxing & Gao, Xiaoxia, 2019. "Investigation into spacing restriction and layout optimization of wind farm with multiple types of wind turbines," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 637-650.
    13. Takanori Uchida & Yasushi Kawashima, 2019. "New Assessment Scales for Evaluating the Degree of Risk of Wind Turbine Blade Damage Caused by Terrain-Induced Turbulence," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-27, July.
    14. Marino Marrocu & Luca Massidda, 2017. "A Simple and Effective Approach for the Prediction of Turbine Power Production From Wind Speed Forecast," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-14, November.
    15. He, J.Y. & Li, Q.S. & Chan, P.W. & Zhao, X.D., 2023. "Assessment of future wind resources under climate change using a multi-model and multi-method ensemble approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 329(C).
    16. Takanori Uchida & Kenichiro Sugitani, 2020. "Numerical and Experimental Study of Topographic Speed-Up Effects in Complex Terrain," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-38, July.
    17. He, J.Y. & Chan, P.W. & Li, Q.S. & Lee, C.W., 2022. "Characterizing coastal wind energy resources based on sodar and microwave radiometer observations," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    18. Aguayo, Maichel M. & Fierro, Pablo E. & De la Fuente, Rodrigo A. & Sepúlveda, Ignacio A. & Figueroa, Dante M., 2021. "A mixed-integer programming methodology to design tidal current farms integrating both cost and benefits: A case study in the Chacao Channel, Chile," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    19. Brogna, Roberto & Feng, Ju & Sørensen, Jens Nørkær & Shen, Wen Zhong & Porté-Agel, Fernando, 2020. "A new wake model and comparison of eight algorithms for layout optimization of wind farms in complex terrain," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 259(C).
    20. Wen-Ko Hsu & Chung-Kee Yeh, 2021. "Offshore Wind Potential of West Central Taiwan: A Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-20, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2018:i:1:p:83-:d:193669. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.