Articles | Volume 11, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-11-2647-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-11-2647-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
24 Jul 2026
Research article |
| 24 Jul 2026
| 24 Jul 2026
A consistent computational fluid dynamics surrogate model for wind turbine interaction including atmospheric stability
Technical University of Denmark, DTU Wind and Energy Systems, Risø Campus, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
Alexander Meyer Forsting
Technical University of Denmark, DTU Wind and Energy Systems, Risø Campus, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
Pierre-Elouan Réthoré
Technical University of Denmark, DTU Wind and Energy Systems, Risø Campus, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
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Jens Peter Schøler, Frederik Peder Weilmann Rasmussen, M. Paul van der Laan, Alfredo Peña, and Pierre-Elouan Réthoré
Wind Energ. Sci., 11, 2869–2893, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-11-2869-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-11-2869-2026, 2026
Short summary
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As offshore wind farms are built closer together, predicting how they affect each other becomes critical. We compared two AI approaches for this task, training both on cheap approximate data before refining them with expensive high-accuracy simulations. One predicts wake boundaries better, while the other estimates wind speeds more accurately, offering complementary tools for future wind farm design.
Jens Peter Schøler, Ernestas Simutis, M. Paul van der Laan, Julian Quick, and Pierre-Elouan Réthoré
Wind Energ. Sci., 11, 2845–2868, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-11-2845-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-11-2845-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Wind turbines create wakes, which reduce downstream power. Optimizing turbine placement requires accounting for these reductions. We compared a neural network trained on numerical simulations against engineering wake models across various farm sizes. The neural network predicted flow most accurately but was slower. Surprisingly, a simple TurbOPark model produced layouts with higher validated energy output, suggesting that accuracy is not the only important metric for such models.
Julia Steiner, Emily Louise Hodgson, Maarten Paul van der Laan, Leonardo Alcayaga, Mads Pedersen, Søren Juhl Andersen, Gunner Larsen, and Pierre-Elouan Réthoré
Wind Energ. Sci., 11, 1679–1703, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-11-1679-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-11-1679-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Wake steering is a promising strategy for wind farm optimization, but its success hinges on accurate wake models. We assess models of varying fidelity for a 22 MW reference turbine, comparing single- and two-turbine cases against large-eddy simulations. All models reproduced qualitative trends for power and loads (if applicable), but quantitative agreement varied, and in general the error increased with increasing yaw angle.
Maarten Paul van der Laan and Simon Watson
Wind Energ. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2026-59, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2026-59, 2026
Revised manuscript under review for WES
Short summary
Short summary
A theoretical limit for the energy extraction of offshore wind farms has been suggested by Simão Ferreira et al. (2026) based on a simple model of an infinite wind farm and an ad hoc method to correct the model for application to finite wind farms. In this work, we discuss a number of concerns and we conclude that the limit proposed in Simão Ferreira et al. (2026) is not a theoretical limit but a model limit that is strongly dependent on the ad hoc finite wind farm correction.
Oscar García-Santiago, Jake Badger, Andrea N. Hahmann, Patrick J. H. Volker, Søren Ott, M. Paul van der Laan, and Mark Kelly
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2144, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2144, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
We improve how weather models represent the turbulence generated by wind turbines within and behind wind farms. Rather than adding this turbulence only at grid squares with turbine locations, the new method transports it through the wake as it moves downwind. Tests against high-resolution simulations of an idealised wind farm showed better agreement in wake turbulence and more accurate reductions in wind speed, providing a more realistic picture of wake effects across the wind farm.
Nicola Bodini, Patrick Moriarty, Regis Thedin, Paula Doubrawa, Cristina Archer, Myra Blaylock, Carlo Bottasso, Bruno Carmo, Lawrence Cheung, Camille Dubreuil, Rogier Floors, Thomas Herges, Daniel Houck, Ali Kanjari, Colleen M. Kaul, Christopher Kelley, Ru LI, Julie K. Lundquist, Desirae Major, Anh Kiet Nguyen, Mike Optis, Luan R. C. Parada, Alfredo Peña, Julian Quick, David Ricarte, William C. Radünz, Raj K. Rai, Oscar Garcia Santiago, Jonas Schulte, Knut S. Seim, M. Paul van der Laan, Kisorthman Vimalakanthan, and Adam Wise
Wind Energ. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2026-34, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2026-34, 2026
Revised manuscript under review for WES
Short summary
Short summary
Predicting wind farm energy production is challenging because wind patterns are complex. We tested 16 different models against real data from a major field experiment to see which worked best. Surprisingly, the most expensive and detailed models were not always more accurate than simpler ones. We found that feeding models better weather data was the most effective way to improve accuracy. These results help the industry choose the right tools for designing more efficient wind farms.
Mads Baungaard, Takafumi Nishino, and Maarten Paul van der Laan
Wind Energ. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2025-50, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2025-50, 2025
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Short summary
Short summary
A systematic comparison between 2D and 3D Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes simulations of wind farm flows have been conducted. It is found that the 2D simulations are, at least, two orders of magnitude computationally cheaper than their corresponding 3D simulations, while the predicted farm power is within -30 % to 15 % for all cases considered. The large computational speed-ups and sensible results makes 2D simulations a promising option in the low- to mid-fidelity range.
Maarten Paul van der Laan, Mark Kelly, Mads Baungaard, Antariksh Dicholkar, and Emily Louise Hodgson
Wind Energ. Sci., 9, 1985–2000, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1985-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1985-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Wind turbines are increasing in size and operate more frequently above the atmospheric surface layer, which requires improved inflow models for numerical simulations of turbine interaction. In this work, a novel steady-state model of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) is introduced. Numerical wind turbine flow simulations subjected to shallow and tall ABLs are conducted, and the proposed model shows improved performance compared to other state-of-the-art steady-state models.
Mark Kelly and Maarten Paul van der Laan
Wind Energ. Sci., 8, 975–998, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-975-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-975-2023, 2023
Short summary
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The turning of the wind with height, which is known as veer, can affect wind turbine performance. Thus far meteorology has only given idealized descriptions of veer, which has not yet been related in a way readily usable for wind energy. Here we derive equations for veer in terms of meteorological quantities and provide practically usable forms in terms of measurable shear (change in wind speed with height). Flow simulations and measurements at turbine heights support these developments.
Maarten Paul van der Laan, Oscar García-Santiago, Mark Kelly, Alexander Meyer Forsting, Camille Dubreuil-Boisclair, Knut Sponheim Seim, Marc Imberger, Alfredo Peña, Niels Nørmark Sørensen, and Pierre-Elouan Réthoré
Wind Energ. Sci., 8, 819–848, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-819-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-819-2023, 2023
Short summary
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Offshore wind farms are more commonly installed in wind farm clusters, where wind farm interaction can lead to energy losses. In this work, an efficient numerical method is presented that can be used to estimate these energy losses. The novel method is verified with higher-fidelity numerical models and validated with measurements of an existing wind farm cluster.
Maarten Paul van der Laan, Mads Baungaard, and Mark Kelly
Wind Energ. Sci., 8, 247–254, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-247-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-247-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding wind turbine wake recovery is important to mitigate energy losses in wind farms. Wake recovery is often assumed or explained to be dependent on the first-order derivative of velocity. In this work we show that wind turbine wakes recover mainly due to the second-order derivative of the velocity, which transport momentum from the freestream towards the wake center. The wake recovery mechanisms and results of a high-fidelity numerical simulation are illustrated using a simple model.
Mads Baungaard, Stefan Wallin, Maarten Paul van der Laan, and Mark Kelly
Wind Energ. Sci., 7, 1975–2002, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-1975-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-1975-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Wind turbine wakes in the neutral atmospheric surface layer are simulated with Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) using an explicit algebraic Reynolds stress model. Contrary to standard two-equation turbulence models, it can predict turbulence anisotropy and complex physical phenomena like secondary motions. For the cases considered, it improves Reynolds stress, turbulence intensity, and velocity deficit predictions, although a more top-hat-shaped profile is observed for the latter.
Tuhfe Göçmen, Filippo Campagnolo, Thomas Duc, Irene Eguinoa, Søren Juhl Andersen, Vlaho Petrović, Lejla Imširović, Robert Braunbehrens, Jaime Liew, Mads Baungaard, Maarten Paul van der Laan, Guowei Qian, Maria Aparicio-Sanchez, Rubén González-Lope, Vinit V. Dighe, Marcus Becker, Maarten J. van den Broek, Jan-Willem van Wingerden, Adam Stock, Matthew Cole, Renzo Ruisi, Ervin Bossanyi, Niklas Requate, Simon Strnad, Jonas Schmidt, Lukas Vollmer, Ishaan Sood, and Johan Meyers
Wind Energ. Sci., 7, 1791–1825, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-1791-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-1791-2022, 2022
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The FarmConners benchmark is the first of its kind to bring a wide variety of data sets, control settings, and model complexities for the (initial) assessment of wind farm flow control benefits. Here we present the first part of the benchmark results for three blind tests with large-scale rotors and 11 participating models in total, via direct power comparisons at the turbines as well as the observed or estimated power gain at the wind farm level under wake steering control strategy.
Jana Fischereit, Kurt Schaldemose Hansen, Xiaoli Guo Larsén, Maarten Paul van der Laan, Pierre-Elouan Réthoré, and Juan Pablo Murcia Leon
Wind Energ. Sci., 7, 1069–1091, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-1069-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-1069-2022, 2022
Short summary
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Wind turbines extract kinetic energy from the flow to create electricity. This induces a wake of reduced wind speed downstream of a turbine and consequently downstream of a wind farm. Different types of numerical models have been developed to calculate this effect. In this study, we compared models of different complexity, together with measurements over two wind farms. We found that higher-fidelity models perform better and the considered rapid models cannot fully capture the wake effect.
Mads Baungaard, Maarten Paul van der Laan, and Mark Kelly
Wind Energ. Sci., 7, 783–800, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-783-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-783-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Wind turbine wakes are dependent on the atmospheric conditions, and it is therefore important to be able to simulate in various different atmospheric conditions. This paper concerns the specific case of an unstable atmospheric surface layer, which is the lower part of the typical daytime atmospheric boundary layer. A simple flow model is suggested and tested for a range of single-wake scenarios, and it shows promising results for velocity deficit predictions.
Jens Peter Schøler, Frederik Peder Weilmann Rasmussen, M. Paul van der Laan, Alfredo Peña, and Pierre-Elouan Réthoré
Wind Energ. Sci., 11, 2869–2893, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-11-2869-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-11-2869-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
As offshore wind farms are built closer together, predicting how they affect each other becomes critical. We compared two AI approaches for this task, training both on cheap approximate data before refining them with expensive high-accuracy simulations. One predicts wake boundaries better, while the other estimates wind speeds more accurately, offering complementary tools for future wind farm design.
Jens Peter Schøler, Ernestas Simutis, M. Paul van der Laan, Julian Quick, and Pierre-Elouan Réthoré
Wind Energ. Sci., 11, 2845–2868, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-11-2845-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-11-2845-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Wind turbines create wakes, which reduce downstream power. Optimizing turbine placement requires accounting for these reductions. We compared a neural network trained on numerical simulations against engineering wake models across various farm sizes. The neural network predicted flow most accurately but was slower. Surprisingly, a simple TurbOPark model produced layouts with higher validated energy output, suggesting that accuracy is not the only important metric for such models.
Jens Peter Schøler, Frederik Peder Weilmann Rasmussen, Julian Quick, and Pierre-Elouan Réthoré
Wind Energ. Sci., 11, 2229–2256, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-11-2229-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-11-2229-2026, 2026
Short summary
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We propose a machine learning model that represents wind turbines as nodes in a graph, learning how they interact to predict the wind speed at any location on a farm. Trained on thousands of simulated farms, it captures complex wake interactions across varying layouts and sizes at low computational cost, supporting faster neighboring farm wake assessment.
Michele Sergio Campobasso, Alessio Castorrini, David Bretos, Beatriz Mendez, David C. Maniaci, Johannes N. Theron, Alexander Meyer Forsting, Niels Nørmark Sørensen, Kisorthman Vimalakanthan, Marco Caboni, Ruben Gutierrez, Yana Gorbachova, Aya Aihara, and Francesco Grasso
Wind Energ. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2026-89, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2026-89, 2026
Preprint under review for WES
Short summary
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We assess against wind tunnel data the predictions of aerodynamics codes used in industry and research of wind turbine airfoil performance loss due to leading edge degradation. Predictions are close to measurements for moderate surface degradation. At severe degradation, differences among predictions increase due to user model and subjectivity in detailed set-up. Also quantified is the impact of airfoil performance variability on wind turbine energy losses, providing detailed sensitivity data.
Julia Steiner, Emily Louise Hodgson, Maarten Paul van der Laan, Leonardo Alcayaga, Mads Pedersen, Søren Juhl Andersen, Gunner Larsen, and Pierre-Elouan Réthoré
Wind Energ. Sci., 11, 1679–1703, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-11-1679-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-11-1679-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Wake steering is a promising strategy for wind farm optimization, but its success hinges on accurate wake models. We assess models of varying fidelity for a 22 MW reference turbine, comparing single- and two-turbine cases against large-eddy simulations. All models reproduced qualitative trends for power and loads (if applicable), but quantitative agreement varied, and in general the error increased with increasing yaw angle.
Maarten Paul van der Laan and Simon Watson
Wind Energ. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2026-59, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2026-59, 2026
Revised manuscript under review for WES
Short summary
Short summary
A theoretical limit for the energy extraction of offshore wind farms has been suggested by Simão Ferreira et al. (2026) based on a simple model of an infinite wind farm and an ad hoc method to correct the model for application to finite wind farms. In this work, we discuss a number of concerns and we conclude that the limit proposed in Simão Ferreira et al. (2026) is not a theoretical limit but a model limit that is strongly dependent on the ad hoc finite wind farm correction.
Oscar García-Santiago, Jake Badger, Andrea N. Hahmann, Patrick J. H. Volker, Søren Ott, M. Paul van der Laan, and Mark Kelly
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2144, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2144, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
We improve how weather models represent the turbulence generated by wind turbines within and behind wind farms. Rather than adding this turbulence only at grid squares with turbine locations, the new method transports it through the wake as it moves downwind. Tests against high-resolution simulations of an idealised wind farm showed better agreement in wake turbulence and more accurate reductions in wind speed, providing a more realistic picture of wake effects across the wind farm.
Nicola Bodini, Patrick Moriarty, Regis Thedin, Paula Doubrawa, Cristina Archer, Myra Blaylock, Carlo Bottasso, Bruno Carmo, Lawrence Cheung, Camille Dubreuil, Rogier Floors, Thomas Herges, Daniel Houck, Ali Kanjari, Colleen M. Kaul, Christopher Kelley, Ru LI, Julie K. Lundquist, Desirae Major, Anh Kiet Nguyen, Mike Optis, Luan R. C. Parada, Alfredo Peña, Julian Quick, David Ricarte, William C. Radünz, Raj K. Rai, Oscar Garcia Santiago, Jonas Schulte, Knut S. Seim, M. Paul van der Laan, Kisorthman Vimalakanthan, and Adam Wise
Wind Energ. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2026-34, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2026-34, 2026
Revised manuscript under review for WES
Short summary
Short summary
Predicting wind farm energy production is challenging because wind patterns are complex. We tested 16 different models against real data from a major field experiment to see which worked best. Surprisingly, the most expensive and detailed models were not always more accurate than simpler ones. We found that feeding models better weather data was the most effective way to improve accuracy. These results help the industry choose the right tools for designing more efficient wind farms.
Julian Quick, Edward Hart, Marcus Binder Nilsen, Rasmus Sode Lund, Jaime Liew, Piinshin Huang, Pierre-Elouan Rethore, Jonathan Keller, Wooyong Song, and Yi Guo
Wind Energ. Sci., 11, 493–507, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-11-493-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-11-493-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Wind turbine main bearings often fail prematurely, creating costly maintenance challenges. This study examined how wake effects – where upstream turbines create disturbed airflow that impacts downstream turbines – affect bearing lifespans. Using computer simulations, we found that wake effects reduce bearing life by 16 % on average. The direction of wake impact matters significantly due to interactions between wind forces and gravity, informing better wind turbine and farm design strategies.
Thuy-Hai Nguyen, Julian Quick, Pierre-Elouan Réthoré, Jean-François Toubeau, Emmanuel De Jaeger, and François Vallée
Wind Energ. Sci., 10, 1661–1680, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-1661-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-1661-2025, 2025
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Current offshore wind farms have been designed to maximize their production of electricity at all times and not to keep a reserve of power in case of unexpected events on the grid. We present a new formulation for designing wind farms to maximize revenues from both energy and reserve markets. We apply it to a real-life wind farm and show that profits are expected to increase in a significant way for wind farms designed and operated for reserve, with less energy supplied.
Mads Baungaard, Takafumi Nishino, and Maarten Paul van der Laan
Wind Energ. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2025-50, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2025-50, 2025
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Short summary
Short summary
A systematic comparison between 2D and 3D Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes simulations of wind farm flows have been conducted. It is found that the 2D simulations are, at least, two orders of magnitude computationally cheaper than their corresponding 3D simulations, while the predicted farm power is within -30 % to 15 % for all cases considered. The large computational speed-ups and sensible results makes 2D simulations a promising option in the low- to mid-fidelity range.
Maarten Paul van der Laan, Mark Kelly, Mads Baungaard, Antariksh Dicholkar, and Emily Louise Hodgson
Wind Energ. Sci., 9, 1985–2000, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1985-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1985-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Wind turbines are increasing in size and operate more frequently above the atmospheric surface layer, which requires improved inflow models for numerical simulations of turbine interaction. In this work, a novel steady-state model of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) is introduced. Numerical wind turbine flow simulations subjected to shallow and tall ABLs are conducted, and the proposed model shows improved performance compared to other state-of-the-art steady-state models.
Jens Visbech, Tuhfe Göçmen, Özge Sinem Özçakmak, Alexander Meyer Forsting, Ásta Hannesdóttir, and Pierre-Elouan Réthoré
Wind Energ. Sci., 9, 1811–1826, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1811-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1811-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Leading-edge erosion (LEE) can impact wind turbine aerodynamics and wind farm efficiency. This study couples LEE prediction, aerodynamic loss modeling, and wind farm flow modeling to show that LEE's effects on wake dynamics can affect overall energy production. Without preventive initiatives, the effects of LEE increase over time, resulting in significant annual energy production (AEP) loss.
Javier Criado Risco, Rafael Valotta Rodrigues, Mikkel Friis-Møller, Julian Quick, Mads Mølgaard Pedersen, and Pierre-Elouan Réthoré
Wind Energ. Sci., 9, 585–600, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-585-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-585-2024, 2024
Short summary
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Wind energy developers frequently have to face some spatial restrictions at the time of designing a new wind farm due to different reasons, such as the existence of protected natural areas around the wind farm location, fishing routes, and the presence of buildings. Wind farm design has to account for these restricted areas, but sometimes this is not straightforward to achieve. We have developed a methodology that allows for different inclusion and exclusion areas in the optimization framework.
Rafael Valotta Rodrigues, Mads Mølgaard Pedersen, Jens Peter Schøler, Julian Quick, and Pierre-Elouan Réthoré
Wind Energ. Sci., 9, 321–341, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-321-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-321-2024, 2024
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The use of wind energy has been growing over the last few decades, and further increase is predicted. As the wind energy industry is starting to consider larger wind farms, the existing numerical methods for analysis of small and medium wind farms need to be improved. In this article, we have explored different strategies to tackle the problem in a feasible and timely way. The final product is a set of recommendations when carrying out trade-off analysis on large wind farms.
Julian Quick, Pierre-Elouan Rethore, Mads Mølgaard Pedersen, Rafael Valotta Rodrigues, and Mikkel Friis-Møller
Wind Energ. Sci., 8, 1235–1250, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-1235-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-1235-2023, 2023
Short summary
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Wind turbine positions are often optimized to avoid wake losses. These losses depend on atmospheric conditions, such as the wind speed and direction. The typical optimization scheme involves discretizing the atmospheric inputs, then considering every possible set of these discretized inputs in every optimization iteration. This work presents stochastic gradient descent (SGD) as an alternative, which randomly samples the atmospheric conditions during every optimization iteration.
Mark Kelly and Maarten Paul van der Laan
Wind Energ. Sci., 8, 975–998, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-975-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-975-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The turning of the wind with height, which is known as veer, can affect wind turbine performance. Thus far meteorology has only given idealized descriptions of veer, which has not yet been related in a way readily usable for wind energy. Here we derive equations for veer in terms of meteorological quantities and provide practically usable forms in terms of measurable shear (change in wind speed with height). Flow simulations and measurements at turbine heights support these developments.
Maarten Paul van der Laan, Oscar García-Santiago, Mark Kelly, Alexander Meyer Forsting, Camille Dubreuil-Boisclair, Knut Sponheim Seim, Marc Imberger, Alfredo Peña, Niels Nørmark Sørensen, and Pierre-Elouan Réthoré
Wind Energ. Sci., 8, 819–848, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-819-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-819-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Offshore wind farms are more commonly installed in wind farm clusters, where wind farm interaction can lead to energy losses. In this work, an efficient numerical method is presented that can be used to estimate these energy losses. The novel method is verified with higher-fidelity numerical models and validated with measurements of an existing wind farm cluster.
Camilla Marie Nyborg, Andreas Fischer, Pierre-Elouan Réthoré, and Ju Feng
Wind Energ. Sci., 8, 255–276, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-255-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-255-2023, 2023
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Our article presents a way of optimizing the wind farm operation by keeping the emitted noise level below a defined limit while maximizing the power output. This is done by switching between noise reducing operational modes. The method has been developed by using two different noise models, one more advanced than the other, to study the advantages of each model. Furthermore, the optimization method is applied to different wind farm cases.
Maarten Paul van der Laan, Mads Baungaard, and Mark Kelly
Wind Energ. Sci., 8, 247–254, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-247-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-247-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding wind turbine wake recovery is important to mitigate energy losses in wind farms. Wake recovery is often assumed or explained to be dependent on the first-order derivative of velocity. In this work we show that wind turbine wakes recover mainly due to the second-order derivative of the velocity, which transport momentum from the freestream towards the wake center. The wake recovery mechanisms and results of a high-fidelity numerical simulation are illustrated using a simple model.
Koen Boorsma, Gerard Schepers, Helge Aagard Madsen, Georg Pirrung, Niels Sørensen, Galih Bangga, Manfred Imiela, Christian Grinderslev, Alexander Meyer Forsting, Wen Zhong Shen, Alessandro Croce, Stefano Cacciola, Alois Peter Schaffarczyk, Brandon Lobo, Frederic Blondel, Philippe Gilbert, Ronan Boisard, Leo Höning, Luca Greco, Claudio Testa, Emmanuel Branlard, Jason Jonkman, and Ganesh Vijayakumar
Wind Energ. Sci., 8, 211–230, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-211-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-211-2023, 2023
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Within the framework of the fourth phase of the International Energy Agency's (IEA) Wind Task 29, a large comparison exercise between measurements and aeroelastic simulations has been carried out. Results were obtained from more than 19 simulation tools of various fidelity, originating from 12 institutes and compared to state-of-the-art field measurements. The result is a unique insight into the current status and accuracy of rotor aerodynamic modeling.
Mads Baungaard, Stefan Wallin, Maarten Paul van der Laan, and Mark Kelly
Wind Energ. Sci., 7, 1975–2002, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-1975-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-1975-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Wind turbine wakes in the neutral atmospheric surface layer are simulated with Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) using an explicit algebraic Reynolds stress model. Contrary to standard two-equation turbulence models, it can predict turbulence anisotropy and complex physical phenomena like secondary motions. For the cases considered, it improves Reynolds stress, turbulence intensity, and velocity deficit predictions, although a more top-hat-shaped profile is observed for the latter.
Tuhfe Göçmen, Filippo Campagnolo, Thomas Duc, Irene Eguinoa, Søren Juhl Andersen, Vlaho Petrović, Lejla Imširović, Robert Braunbehrens, Jaime Liew, Mads Baungaard, Maarten Paul van der Laan, Guowei Qian, Maria Aparicio-Sanchez, Rubén González-Lope, Vinit V. Dighe, Marcus Becker, Maarten J. van den Broek, Jan-Willem van Wingerden, Adam Stock, Matthew Cole, Renzo Ruisi, Ervin Bossanyi, Niklas Requate, Simon Strnad, Jonas Schmidt, Lukas Vollmer, Ishaan Sood, and Johan Meyers
Wind Energ. Sci., 7, 1791–1825, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-1791-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-1791-2022, 2022
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The FarmConners benchmark is the first of its kind to bring a wide variety of data sets, control settings, and model complexities for the (initial) assessment of wind farm flow control benefits. Here we present the first part of the benchmark results for three blind tests with large-scale rotors and 11 participating models in total, via direct power comparisons at the turbines as well as the observed or estimated power gain at the wind farm level under wake steering control strategy.
Niels Troldborg, Søren J. Andersen, Emily L. Hodgson, and Alexander Meyer Forsting
Wind Energ. Sci., 7, 1527–1532, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-1527-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-1527-2022, 2022
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This article shows that the power performance of a wind turbine may be very different in flat and complex terrain. This is an important finding because it shows that the power output of a given wind turbine is governed by not only the available wind at the position of the turbine but also how the ambient flow develops in the region behind the turbine.
Ang Li, Mac Gaunaa, Georg Raimund Pirrung, Alexander Meyer Forsting, and Sergio González Horcas
Wind Energ. Sci., 7, 1341–1365, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-1341-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-1341-2022, 2022
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A consistent method of using two-dimensional airfoil data when using generalized lifting-line methods for the aerodynamic load calculation of non-planar horizontal-axis wind turbines is described. The important conclusions from the unsteady two-dimensional airfoil aerodynamics are highlighted. The impact of using a simplified approach instead of using the full model on the prediction of the aerodynamic performance of non-planar rotors is shown numerically for different aerodynamic models.
Jana Fischereit, Kurt Schaldemose Hansen, Xiaoli Guo Larsén, Maarten Paul van der Laan, Pierre-Elouan Réthoré, and Juan Pablo Murcia Leon
Wind Energ. Sci., 7, 1069–1091, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-1069-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-1069-2022, 2022
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Wind turbines extract kinetic energy from the flow to create electricity. This induces a wake of reduced wind speed downstream of a turbine and consequently downstream of a wind farm. Different types of numerical models have been developed to calculate this effect. In this study, we compared models of different complexity, together with measurements over two wind farms. We found that higher-fidelity models perform better and the considered rapid models cannot fully capture the wake effect.
Alessandro Sebastiani, Alfredo Peña, Niels Troldborg, and Alexander Meyer Forsting
Wind Energ. Sci., 7, 875–886, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-875-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-875-2022, 2022
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The power performance of a wind turbine is often tested with the turbine standing in a row of several wind turbines, as it is assumed that the performance is not affected by the neighbouring turbines. We test this assumption with both simulations and measurements, and we show that the power performance can be either enhanced or lowered by the neighbouring wind turbines. Consequently, we also show how power performance testing might be biased when performed on a row of several wind turbines.
Mads Baungaard, Maarten Paul van der Laan, and Mark Kelly
Wind Energ. Sci., 7, 783–800, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-783-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-783-2022, 2022
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Wind turbine wakes are dependent on the atmospheric conditions, and it is therefore important to be able to simulate in various different atmospheric conditions. This paper concerns the specific case of an unstable atmospheric surface layer, which is the lower part of the typical daytime atmospheric boundary layer. A simple flow model is suggested and tested for a range of single-wake scenarios, and it shows promising results for velocity deficit predictions.
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Short summary
Wind turbine interaction can lead to energy losses. This article introduces a fast open-source wind turbine interaction model that can be used to design energy-efficient wind farms, including effects of atmospheric turbulence and temperature. The model can inherit the accuracy of a higher-fidelity model while being about 5 orders of magnitude faster. However, the model is an order of magnitude slower than analytic wind turbine interaction models, and more research is needed to reduce it.
Wind turbine interaction can lead to energy losses. This article introduces a fast open-source...
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