Articles | Volume 2, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2-569-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2-569-2017
Research article
 | 
22 Nov 2017
Research article |  | 22 Nov 2017

3-D shear-layer model for the simulation of multiple wind turbine wakes: description and first assessment

Davide Trabucchi, Lukas Vollmer, and Martin Kühn

Abstract. The number of turbines installed in offshore wind farms has strongly increased in the last years and at the same time the need for more precise estimations of the wind farm efficiency too. In this sense, the interaction between wakes has become a relevant aspect for the definition of a wind farm layout, for the assessment of its annual energy yield and for the evaluation of wind turbine fatigue loads. For this reason, accurate models for multiple overlapping wakes are a main concern of the wind energy community. Existing engineering models can only simulate single wakes, which are superimposed when they are interacting in a wind farm. This method is a practical solution, but it is not fully supported by a physical background. The limitation to single wakes is given by the assumption that the wake is axisymmetric. As an alternative, we propose a new shear-layer model that is based on the existing engineering wake models but is extended to also simulate non-axisymmetric wakes. In this paper, we present the theoretical background of the model and four application cases. We evaluate the new model for the simulation of single and multiple wakes using large-eddy simulations as reference. In particular, we report the improvements of the new model predictions in comparison to a sum-of-squares superposition approach for the simulation of three interacting wakes. The lower deviation from the reference considering single and multiple wakes encourages the further development of the model and promises a successful application for the simulation of wind farm flows.

Download
Short summary
The wakes of wind turbines cause losses in the energy production of a wind farm. The accuracy of models applied to predict wake losses is a key factor for new wind projects. This paper presents an engineering wake model that can simulate merging wakes on the basis of physical principles. We used high-fidelity simulations of merging wakes to assess this model and found a better agreement with the reference than commonly used models implementing the superposition of individual wakes.
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint