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Implications of Stably Stratified Atmospheric Boundary Layer Turbulence on the Near-Wake Structure of Wind Turbines

Author

Listed:
  • Kiran Bhaganagar

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio, 1 UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA)

  • Mithu Debnath

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio, 1 UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA)

Abstract

Turbulence structure in the wake behind a full-scale horizontal-axis wind turbine under the influence of real-time atmospheric inflow conditions has been investigated using actuator-line-model based large-eddy-simulations. Precursor atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) simulations have been performed to obtain mean and turbulence states of the atmosphere under stable stratification subjected to two different cooling rates. Wind turbine simulations have revealed that, in addition to wind shear and ABL turbulence, height-varying wind angle and low-level jets are ABL metrics that influence the structure of the turbine wake. Increasing stability results in shallower boundary layers with stronger wind shear, steeper vertical wind angle gradients, lower turbulence, and suppressed vertical motions. A turbulent mixing layer forms downstream of the wind turbines, the strength and size of which decreases with increasing stability. Height dependent wind angle and turbulence are the ABL metrics influencing the lateral wake expansion. Further, ABL metrics strongly impact the evolution of tip and root vortices formed behind the rotor. Two factors play an important role in wake meandering: tip vortex merging due to the mutual inductance form of instability and the corresponding instability of the turbulent mixing layer.

Suggested Citation

  • Kiran Bhaganagar & Mithu Debnath, 2014. "Implications of Stably Stratified Atmospheric Boundary Layer Turbulence on the Near-Wake Structure of Wind Turbines," Energies, MDPI, vol. 7(9), pages 1-24, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:7:y:2014:i:9:p:5740-5763:d:39870
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. C. A. Lopez-Villalobos & O. Rodriguez-Hernandez & R. Campos-Amezcua & Guillermo Hernandez-Cruz & O. A. Jaramillo & J. L. Mendoza, 2018. "Wind Turbulence Intensity at La Ventosa, Mexico: A Comparative Study with the IEC61400 Standards," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-19, November.
    2. Xiaolei Yang & Fotis Sotiropoulos, 2019. "A Review on the Meandering of Wind Turbine Wakes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-20, December.
    3. Pankaj K. Jha & Earl P. N. Duque & Jessica L. Bashioum & Sven Schmitz, 2015. "Unraveling the Mysteries of Turbulence Transport in a Wind Farm," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-29, June.
    4. Charlotte Bay Hasager & Nicolai Gayle Nygaard & Patrick J. H. Volker & Ioanna Karagali & Søren Juhl Andersen & Jake Badger, 2017. "Wind Farm Wake: The 2016 Horns Rev Photo Case," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-24, March.
    5. Dar, Arslan Salim & Porté-Agel, Fernando, 2022. "Wind turbine wakes on escarpments: A wind-tunnel study," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 1258-1275.

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