Articles | Volume 8, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-1795-2023
© Author(s) 2023. 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-8-1795-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
04 Dec 2023
Research article |
| 04 Dec 2023
| 04 Dec 2023
A method to correct for the effect of blockage and wakes on power performance measurements
DTU Wind and Energy Systems, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
James Bleeg
DNV, One Linear Park, Avon St, Temple Quay, Bristol BS2 0PS, UK
Alfredo Peña
DTU Wind and Energy Systems, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
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Wei Fu, Alessandro Sebastiani, Alfredo Peña, and Jakob Mann
Wind Energ. Sci., 8, 677–690, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-677-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-677-2023, 2023
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Nacelle lidars with different beam scanning locations and two types of systems are considered for inflow turbulence estimations using both numerical simulations and field measurements. The turbulence estimates from a sonic anemometer at the hub height of a Vestas V52 turbine are used as references. The turbulence parameters are retrieved using the radial variances and a least-squares procedure. The findings from numerical simulations have been verified by the analysis of the field measurements.
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.
Etienne Cheynet, Jan Markus Diezel, Hilde Haakenstad, Øyvind Breivik, Alfredo Peña, and Joachim Reuder
Wind Energ. Sci., 10, 733–754, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-733-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-733-2025, 2025
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This study analyses wind speed data at heights up to 500 m to support the design of future large offshore wind turbines and airborne wind energy systems. We compared three wind models (ERA5, NORA3, and NEWA) with lidar measurements at five sites using four performance metrics. ERA5 and NORA3 performed equally well offshore, with NORA3 typically outperforming the other two models onshore. More generally, the optimal choice of model depends on site, altitude, and evaluation criteria.
Alfredo Peña, Ginka G. Yankova, and Vasiliki Mallini
Wind Energ. Sci., 10, 83–102, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-83-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-83-2025, 2025
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Lidars are vastly used in wind energy, but most users struggle when interpreting lidar turbulence measures. Here, we explain the difficulty in converting them into standard measurements. We show two ways of converting lidar to in situ turbulence measurements, both using neural networks: one of them is based on physics, while the other is purely data-driven. They show promising results when compared to high-quality turbulence measurements from a tall mast.
Oscar García-Santiago, Andrea N. Hahmann, Jake Badger, and Alfredo Peña
Wind Energ. Sci., 9, 963–979, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-963-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-963-2024, 2024
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This study compares the results of two wind farm parameterizations (WFPs) in the Weather Research and Forecasting model, simulating a two-turbine array under three atmospheric stabilities with large-eddy simulations. We show that the WFPs accurately depict wind speeds either near turbines or in the far-wake areas, but not both. The parameterizations’ performance varies by variable (wind speed or turbulent kinetic energy) and atmospheric stability, with reduced accuracy in stable conditions.
Wei Fu, Feng Guo, David Schlipf, and Alfredo Peña
Wind Energ. Sci., 8, 1893–1907, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-1893-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-1893-2023, 2023
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A high-quality preview of the rotor-effective wind speed is a key element of the benefits of feedforward pitch control. We model a one-beam lidar in the spinner of a 15 MW wind turbine. The lidar rotates with the wind turbine and scans the inflow in a circular pattern, mimicking a multiple-beam lidar at a lower cost. We found that a spinner-based one-beam lidar provides many more control benefits than the one on the nacelle, which is similar to a four-beam nacelle lidar for feedforward control.
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
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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.
Wei Fu, Alessandro Sebastiani, Alfredo Peña, and Jakob Mann
Wind Energ. Sci., 8, 677–690, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-677-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-677-2023, 2023
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Nacelle lidars with different beam scanning locations and two types of systems are considered for inflow turbulence estimations using both numerical simulations and field measurements. The turbulence estimates from a sonic anemometer at the hub height of a Vestas V52 turbine are used as references. The turbulence parameters are retrieved using the radial variances and a least-squares procedure. The findings from numerical simulations have been verified by the analysis of the field measurements.
Andrea N. Hahmann, Oscar García-Santiago, and Alfredo Peña
Wind Energ. Sci., 7, 2373–2391, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-2373-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-2373-2022, 2022
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We explore the changes in wind energy resources in northern Europe using output from simulations from the Climate Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) under the high-emission scenario. Our results show that climate change does not particularly alter annual energy production in the North Sea but could affect the seasonal distribution of these resources, significantly reducing energy production during the summer from 2031 to 2050.
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.
Wei Fu, Alfredo Peña, and Jakob Mann
Wind Energ. Sci., 7, 831–848, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-831-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-831-2022, 2022
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Measuring the variability of the wind is essential to operate the wind turbines safely. Lidars of different configurations have been placed on the turbines’ nacelle to measure the inflow remotely. This work found that the multiple-beam lidar is the only one out of the three employed nacelle lidars that can give detailed information about the inflow variability. The other two commercial lidars, which have two and four beams, respectively, measure only the fluctuation in the along-wind direction.
Davide Conti, Nikolay Dimitrov, Alfredo Peña, and Thomas Herges
Wind Energ. Sci., 6, 1117–1142, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-6-1117-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-6-1117-2021, 2021
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We carry out a probabilistic calibration of the Dynamic Wake Meandering (DWM) model using high-spatial- and high-temporal-resolution nacelle-based lidar measurements of the wake flow field. The experimental data were collected from the Scaled Wind Farm Technology (SWiFT) facility in Texas. The analysis includes the velocity deficit, wake-added turbulence, and wake meandering features under various inflow wind and atmospheric-stability conditions.
Davide Conti, Vasilis Pettas, Nikolay Dimitrov, and Alfredo Peña
Wind Energ. Sci., 6, 841–866, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-6-841-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-6-841-2021, 2021
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We define two lidar-based procedures for improving the accuracy of wind turbine load assessment under wake conditions. The first approach incorporates lidar observations directly into turbulence fields serving as inputs for aeroelastic simulations; the second approach imposes lidar-fitted wake deficit time series on the turbulence fields. The uncertainty in the lidar-based power and load predictions is quantified for a variety of scanning configurations and atmosphere turbulence conditions.
Alfredo Peña, Branko Kosović, and Jeffrey D. Mirocha
Wind Energ. Sci., 6, 645–661, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-6-645-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-6-645-2021, 2021
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Pedro Santos, Alfredo Peña, and Jakob Mann
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2020-960, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2020-960, 2020
Preprint withdrawn
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We show that the vector of vertical flux of horizontal momentum and the vector of the mean vertical gradient of horizontal velocity are not aligned, based on Doppler wind lidar observations up to 500 m, both offshore and onshore. We illustrate that a mesoscale model output matches the observed mean wind speed and momentum fluxes well, but that this model output as well as idealized large-eddy simulations have deviations with the observations when looking at the turning of the wind.
Davide Conti, Nikolay Dimitrov, and Alfredo Peña
Wind Energ. Sci., 5, 1129–1154, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-5-1129-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-5-1129-2020, 2020
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We propose a method for carrying out wind turbine load validation in wake conditions using measurements from forward-looking nacelle lidars. The uncertainty of aeroelastic load predictions is quantified against wind turbine on-board sensor data. This work demonstrates the applicability of nacelle-mounted lidar measurements to extend load and power validations under wake conditions and highlights the main challenges.
Maarten Paul van der Laan, Mark Kelly, Rogier Floors, and Alfredo Peña
Wind Energ. Sci., 5, 355–374, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-5-355-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-5-355-2020, 2020
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The design of wind turbines and wind farms can be improved by increasing the accuracy of the inflow models representing the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). In this work we employ numerical simulations of the idealized ABL, which can represent the mean effects of Coriolis and buoyancy forces and surface roughness. We find a new model-based similarity that provides a better understanding of the idealized ABL. In addition, we extend the model to include effects of convective buoyancy forces.
Alfredo Peña, Ebba Dellwik, and Jakob Mann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 237–252, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-237-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-237-2019, 2019
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We propose a method to assess the accuracy of turbulence measurements by sonic anemometers. The idea is to compute the ratio of the vertical to along-wind velocity spectrum within the inertial subrange. We found that the Metek USA-1 and the Campbell CSAT3 sonic anemometers do not show the expected theoretical ratio. A wind-tunnel-based correction recovers the expected ratio for the USA-1. A correction for the CSAT3 does not, illustrating that this sonic anemometer suffers from flow distortion.
Laura Valldecabres, Alfredo Peña, Michael Courtney, Lueder von Bremen, and Martin Kühn
Wind Energ. Sci., 3, 313–327, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-3-313-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-3-313-2018, 2018
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This paper focuses on the use of scanning lidars for very short-term forecasting of wind speeds in a near-coastal area. An extensive data set of offshore lidar measurements up to 6 km has been used for this purpose. Using dual-doppler measurements, the topographic characteristics of the area have been modelled. Assuming Taylor's frozen turbulence and applying the topographic corrections, we demonstrate that we can forecast wind speeds with more accuracy than the benchmarks persistence or ARIMA.
Jakob Mann, Alfredo Peña, Niels Troldborg, and Søren J. Andersen
Wind Energ. Sci., 3, 293–300, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-3-293-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-3-293-2018, 2018
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Turbulence is usually assumed to be unmodified by the stagnation occurring in front of a wind turbine rotor. All manufacturers assume this in their dynamic load calculations. If this assumption is not true it might bias the load calculations and the turbines might not be designed optimally. We investigate the assumption with a Doppler lidar measuring forward from the top of the nacelle and find small but systematic changes in the approaching turbulence that depend on the power curve.
Alfredo Peña, Kurt Schaldemose Hansen, Søren Ott, and Maarten Paul van der Laan
Wind Energ. Sci., 3, 191–202, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-3-191-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-3-191-2018, 2018
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We analyze the wake of the Anholt offshore wind farm in Denmark by intercomparing models and measurements. We also look at the effect of the land on the wind farm by intercomparing mesoscale winds and measurements. Annual energy production and capacity factor estimates are performed using different approaches. Lastly, the uncertainty of the wake models is determined by bootstrapping the data; we find that the wake models generally underestimate the wake losses.
Alfredo Peña, Jakob Mann, and Nikolay Dimitrov
Wind Energ. Sci., 2, 133–152, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2-133-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2-133-2017, 2017
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Nacelle lidars are nowadays extensively used to scan the turbine inflow. Thus, it is important to characterize turbulence from their measurements. We present two methods to perform turbulence estimation and demonstrate them using two types of lidars. With one method we can estimate the along-wind unfiltered variance accurately. With the other we can estimate the filtered radial velocity variance accurately and velocity-tensor parameters under neutral and high wind-speed conditions.
Alfredo Peña, Andreas Bechmann, Davide Conti, and Nikolas Angelou
Wind Energ. Sci., 1, 101–114, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-1-101-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-1-101-2016, 2016
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We have developed flow models from different complexities. Unfortunately, high quality and reliable wind observations affected by obstacles are rare and so we have few means to evaluate our models. We have therefore performed a campaign in which we measured the effect of a fence on the atmosphere using laser-based instruments. The effect can still be noticed as far as 11 fence heights. A wake theory seems to predict the obstacle effect when we are looking at distances beyond 6 fence heights.
Related subject area
Thematic area: Fluid mechanics | Topic: Wakes and wind farm aerodynamics
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Wind Energ. Sci., 10, 719–732, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-719-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-719-2025, 2025
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YuanTso Li, Wei Yu, Andrea Sciacchitano, and Carlos Ferreira
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Juan Felipe Céspedes Moreno, Juan Pablo Murcia León, and Søren Juhl Andersen
Wind Energ. Sci., 10, 597–611, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-597-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-597-2025, 2025
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Karim Ali, Pablo Ouro, and Tim Stallard
Wind Energ. Sci., 10, 511–533, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-511-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-511-2025, 2025
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We introduce an innovative analytical method to better understand and optimise wind-farm performance by accurately calculating how turbine wakes affect each other. Unlike traditional numerical approaches, our method provides a precise way to measure the impact of upstream wakes on downstream turbines. This new approach, validated through numerical comparisons, enhances optimisation strategies, potentially leading to more efficient wind-farm operations and increased power generation.
Andrew Kirby, Takafumi Nishino, Luca Lanzilao, Thomas D. Dunstan, and Johan Meyers
Wind Energ. Sci., 10, 435–450, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-435-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-435-2025, 2025
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David Bensason, Jayant Mulay, Andrea Sciacchitano, and Carlos Ferreira
Wind Energ. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2024-177, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2024-177, 2025
Revised manuscript accepted for WES
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Flavio Avila Correia Martins, Alexander van Zuijlen, and Carlos Simão Ferreira
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Lawrence Cheung, Gopal Yalla, Prakash Mohan, Alan Hsieh, Kenneth Brown, Nathaniel deVelder, Daniel Houck, and Marc Henry de Frahan
Wind Energ. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2024-155, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2024-155, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for WES
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Mitigating turbine wakes is an important aspect to maximizing wind farm energy production but is a challenge to model. We demonstrate a new approach to modeling active wake mixing, which re-energizes turbine wake through periodic blade pitching. The new model divides the wake into separate steady, unsteady, and turbulent components, and solves for each in a computationally efficient manner. Our results show the model can reasonably predict the faster wake recovery due to mixing.
Antonin Hubert, Boris Conan, and Sandrine Aubrun
Wind Energ. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2024-95, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2024-95, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for WES
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The paper aims to study the far-wake of a wind turbine under realistic inflow conditions subjected to harmonic floating motions. The present work show that phase-averaging enables the observation of the coherent spatio-temporal wake behaviour in response to the harmonic motions, on contrary to previous studies with time-averaging, and that the resulting variations of the chosen metrics exhibit an intensity higher than those expected by using basic quasi-steady-state approaches.
Diederik van Binsbergen, Pieter-Jan Daems, Timothy Verstraeten, Amir R. Nejad, and Jan Helsen
Wind Energ. Sci., 9, 1507–1526, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1507-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1507-2024, 2024
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Wind farm yield assessment often relies on analytical wake models. Calibrating these models can be challenging due to the stochastic nature of wind. We developed a calibration framework that performs a multi-phase optimization on the tuning parameters using time series SCADA data. This yields a parameter distribution that more accurately reflects reality than a single value. Results revealed notable variation in resultant parameter values, influenced by nearby wind farms and coastal effects.
Anantha Padmanabhan Kidambi Sekar, Paul Hulsman, Marijn Floris van Dooren, and Martin Kühn
Wind Energ. Sci., 9, 1483–1505, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1483-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1483-2024, 2024
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We present induction zone measurements conducted with two synchronised lidars at a two-turbine wind farm. The induction zone flow was characterised for free, fully waked and partially waked flows. Due to the short turbine spacing, the lidars captured the interaction of the atmospheric boundary layer, induction zone and wake, evidenced by induction asymmetry and induction zone–wake interactions. The measurements will aid the process of further improving existing inflow and wake models.
Kelsey Shaler, Eliot Quon, Hristo Ivanov, and Jason Jonkman
Wind Energ. Sci., 9, 1451–1463, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1451-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1451-2024, 2024
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This paper presents a three-way verification and validation between an engineering-fidelity model, a high-fidelity model, and measured data for the wind farm structural response and wake dynamics during an evolving stable boundary layer of a small wind farm, generally with good agreement.
Peter Brugger, Corey D. Markfort, and Fernando Porté-Agel
Wind Energ. Sci., 9, 1363–1379, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1363-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1363-2024, 2024
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The dynamic wake meandering model (DWMM) assumes that wind turbine wakes are transported like a passive tracer by the large-scale turbulence of the atmospheric boundary layer. We show that both the downstream transport and the lateral transport of the wake have differences from the passive tracer assumption. We then propose to include the turbulent Schmidt number into the DWMM to account for the less efficient transport of momentum and show that it improves the quality of the model predictions.
Mohammad Mehdi Mohammadi, Hugo Olivares-Espinosa, Gonzalo Pablo Navarro Diaz, and Stefan Ivanell
Wind Energ. Sci., 9, 1305–1321, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1305-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1305-2024, 2024
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This paper has put forward a set of recommendations regarding the actuator sector model implementation details to improve the capability of the model to reproduce similar results compared to those obtained by an actuator line model, which is one of the most common ways used for numerical simulations of wind farms, while providing significant computational savings. This includes among others the velocity sampling method and a correction of the sampled velocities to calculate the blade forces.
Franz V. Mühle, Florian M. Heckmeier, Filippo Campagnolo, and Christian Breitsamter
Wind Energ. Sci., 9, 1251–1271, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1251-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1251-2024, 2024
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Wind turbines influence each other, and these wake effects limit the power production of downstream turbines. Controlling turbines collectively and not individually can limit such effects. We experimentally investigate a control strategy increasing mixing in the wake. We want to see the potential of this so-called Helix control for power optimization and understand the flow physics. Our study shows that the control technique leads to clearly faster wake recovery and thus higher power production.
Pascal Weihing, Marion Cormier, Thorsten Lutz, and Ewald Krämer
Wind Energ. Sci., 9, 933–962, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-933-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-933-2024, 2024
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This study evaluates different approaches to simulate the near-wake flow of a wind turbine. The test case is in off-design conditions of the wind turbine, where the flow is separated from the blades and therefore very difficult to predict. The evaluation of simulation techniques is key to understand their limitations and to deepen the understanding of the near-wake physics. This knowledge can help to derive new wind farm design methods for yield-optimized farm layouts.
Nikolaos Bempedelis, Filippo Gori, Andrew Wynn, Sylvain Laizet, and Luca Magri
Wind Energ. Sci., 9, 869–882, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-869-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-869-2024, 2024
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This paper proposes a computational method to maximise the power production of wind farms through two strategies: layout optimisation and yaw angle optimisation. The proposed method relies on high-fidelity computational modelling of wind farm flows and is shown to be able to effectively maximise wind farm power production. Performance improvements relative to conventional optimisation strategies based on low-fidelity models can be attained, particularly in scenarios of increased flow complexity.
Benyamin Schliffke, Boris Conan, and Sandrine Aubrun
Wind Energ. Sci., 9, 519–532, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-519-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-519-2024, 2024
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This paper studies the consequences of floater motions for the wake properties of a floating wind turbine. Since wake interactions are responsible for power production loss in wind farms, it is important that we know whether the tools that are used to predict this production loss need to be upgraded to take into account these aspects. Our wind tunnel study shows that the signature of harmonic floating motions can be observed in the far wake of a wind turbine, when motions have strong amplitudes.
Erwan Jézéquel, Frédéric Blondel, and Valéry Masson
Wind Energ. Sci., 9, 97–117, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-97-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-97-2024, 2024
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Wind turbine wakes affect the production and lifecycle of downstream turbines. They can be predicted with the dynamic wake meandering (DWM) method. In this paper, the authors break down the velocity and turbulence in the wake of a wind turbine into several terms. They show that it is implicitly assumed in the DWM that some of these terms are neglected. With high-fidelity simulations, it is shown that this can lead to some errors, in particular for the maximum turbulence added by the wake.
Erwan Jézéquel, Frédéric Blondel, and Valéry Masson
Wind Energ. Sci., 9, 119–139, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-119-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-119-2024, 2024
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Analytical models allow us to quickly compute the decreased power output and lifetime induced by wakes in a wind farm. This is achieved by evaluating the modified velocity and turbulence in the wake. In this work, we present a new model based on the velocity and turbulence breakdowns presented in Part 1. This new model is physically based, allows us to compute the whole turbulence profile (rather than the maximum value) and is built to take atmospheric stability into account.
Maarten J. van den Broek, Delphine De Tavernier, Paul Hulsman, Daan van der Hoek, Benjamin Sanderse, and Jan-Willem van Wingerden
Wind Energ. Sci., 8, 1909–1925, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-1909-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-1909-2023, 2023
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As wind turbines produce power, they leave behind wakes of slow-moving air. We analyse three different models to predict the effects of these wakes on downstream wind turbines. The models are validated with experimental data from wind tunnel studies for steady and time-varying conditions. We demonstrate that the models are suitable for optimally controlling wind turbines to improve power production in large wind farms.
Filippo Trevisi, Carlo E. D. Riboldi, and Alessandro Croce
Wind Energ. Sci., 8, 999–1016, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-999-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-999-2023, 2023
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Modeling the aerodynamic wake of airborne wind energy systems (AWESs) is crucial to properly estimating power production and to designing such systems. The velocities induced at the AWES from its own wake are studied with a model for the near wake and one for the far wake, using vortex methods. The model is validated with the lifting-line free-vortex wake method implemented in QBlade.
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
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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.
Peter Baas, Remco Verzijlbergh, Pim van Dorp, and Harm Jonker
Wind Energ. Sci., 8, 787–805, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-787-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-787-2023, 2023
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This work studies the energy production and wake losses of large offshore wind farms with a large-eddy simulation model. Therefore, 1 year of actual weather has been simulated for a suite of hypothetical 4 GW wind farm scenarios. The results suggest that production numbers increase significantly when the rated power of the individual turbines is larger while keeping the total installed capacity the same. Also, a clear impact of atmospheric stability on the energy production is found.
Robert Braunbehrens, Andreas Vad, and Carlo L. Bottasso
Wind Energ. Sci., 8, 691–723, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-691-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-691-2023, 2023
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The paper presents a new method in which wind turbines in a wind farm act as local sensors, in this way detecting the flow that develops within the power plant. Through this technique, we are able to identify effects on the flow generated by the plant itself and by the orography of the terrain. The new method not only delivers a flow model of much improved quality but can also help in understanding phenomena that drive the farm performance.
Tamino Wetz and Norman Wildmann
Wind Energ. Sci., 8, 515–534, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-515-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-515-2023, 2023
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In the present study, for the first time, the SWUF-3D fleet of multirotors is deployed for field measurements on an operating 2 MW wind turbine (WT) in complex terrain. The fleet of multirotors has the potential to fill the meteorological gap of observations in the near wake of WTs with high-temporal and high-spatial-resolution wind vector measurements plus temperature, humidity and pressure. The flow up- and downstream of the WT is measured simultaneously at multiple spatial positions.
Christopher J. Bay, Paul Fleming, Bart Doekemeijer, Jennifer King, Matt Churchfield, and Rafael Mudafort
Wind Energ. Sci., 8, 401–419, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-401-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-401-2023, 2023
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This paper introduces the cumulative-curl wake model that allows for the fast and accurate prediction of wind farm energy production wake interactions. The cumulative-curl model expands several existing wake models to make the simulation of farms more accurate and is implemented in a computationally efficient manner such that it can be used for wind farm layout design and controller development. The model is validated against high-fidelity simulations and data from physical wind farms.
Gonzalo Pablo Navarro Diaz, Alejandro Daniel Otero, Henrik Asmuth, Jens Nørkær Sørensen, and Stefan Ivanell
Wind Energ. Sci., 8, 363–382, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-363-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-363-2023, 2023
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In this paper, the capacity to simulate transient wind turbine wake interaction problems using limited wind turbine data has been extended. The key novelty is the creation of two new variants of the actuator line technique in which the rotor blade forces are computed locally using generic load data. The analysis covers a partial wake interaction case between two wind turbines for a uniform laminar inflow and for a turbulent neutral atmospheric boundary layer inflow.
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
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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.
Søren Juhl Andersen and Juan Pablo Murcia Leon
Wind Energ. Sci., 7, 2117–2133, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-2117-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-2117-2022, 2022
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Simulating the turbulent flow inside large wind farms is inherently complex and computationally expensive. A new and fast model is developed based on data from high-fidelity simulations. The model captures the flow dynamics with correct statistics for a wide range of flow conditions. The model framework provides physical insights and presents a generalization of high-fidelity simulation results beyond the case-specific scenarios, which has significant potential for future turbulence 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
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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.
Koen Devesse, Luca Lanzilao, Sebastiaan Jamaer, Nicole van Lipzig, and Johan Meyers
Wind Energ. Sci., 7, 1367–1382, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-1367-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-1367-2022, 2022
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Recent research suggests that offshore wind farms might form such a large obstacle to the wind that it already decelerates before reaching the first turbines. Part of this phenomenon could be explained by gravity waves. Research on these gravity waves triggered by mountains and hills has found that variations in the atmospheric state with altitude can have a large effect on how they behave. This paper is the first to take the impact of those vertical variations into account for wind farms.
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Short summary
The power curve of a wind turbine indicates the turbine power output in relation to the wind speed. Therefore, power curves are critically important to estimate the production of future wind farms as well as to assess whether operating wind farms are functioning correctly. Since power curves are often measured in wind farms, they might be affected by the interactions between the turbines. We show that these effects are not negligible and present a method to correct for them.
The power curve of a wind turbine indicates the turbine power output in relation to the wind...
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