Large-Eddy Simulation Sensitivities to Variations of Configuration and Forcing Parameters in Canonical Boundary-Layer Flows for Wind Energy Applications
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- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Lemont, IL (United States)
- National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)
- Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Centro Nacional de Energias Renovables, Navarra (Spain)
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- United States Dept. of Energy, Washington, D.C. (United States)
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); United States Dept. of Energy, Washington, D.C. (United States)
- United States Dept. of Energy, Washington, D.C. (United States); National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Here, the sensitivities of idealized Large-Eddy Simulations (LES) to variations of model configuration and forcing parameters on quantities of interest to wind power applications are examined. Simulated wind speed, turbulent fluxes, spectra and cospectra are assessed in relation to variations of two physical factors, geostrophic wind speed and surface roughness length, and several model configuration choices, including mesh size and grid aspect ratio, turbulence model, and numerical discretization schemes, in three different code bases. Two case studies representing nearly steady neutral and convective atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) flow conditions over nearly flat and homogeneous terrain were used to force and assess idealized LES, using periodic lateral boundary conditions. Comparison with fast-response velocity measurements at five heights within the lowest 50 m indicates that most model configurations performed similarly overall, with differences between observed and predicted wind speed generally smaller than measurement variability. Simulations of convective conditions produced turbulence quantities and spectra that matched the observations well, while those of neutral simulations produced good predictions of stress, but smaller than observed magnitudes of turbulence kinetic energy, likely due to tower wakes influencing the measurements. While sensitivities to model configuration choices and variability in forcing can be considerable, idealized LES are shown to reliably reproduce quantities of interest to wind energy applications within the lower ABL during quasi-ideal, nearly steady neutral and convective conditions over nearly flat and homogeneous terrain.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Wind Energy Technologies Office
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1441170
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/JA-5000-70811
- Journal Information:
- Wind Energy Science Discussions, Vol. 3; ISSN 2366-7621
- Publisher:
- European Academy of Wind Energy - CopernicusCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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