skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Evaluation of different wind fields for the investigation of the dynamic response of offshore wind turbines

Journal Article · · Wind Energy
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/we.2518· OSTI ID:1660020

As the size of offshore wind turbines increases, a realistic representation of the spatiotemporal distribution of the incident wind field becomes crucial for modeling the dynamic response of the turbine. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard for wind turbine design recommends two turbulence models for simulations of the incident wind field, the Mann spectral tensor model, and the Kaimal spectral and exponential coherence model. In particular, for floating wind turbines, these standard models are challenged by more sophisticated ones. The characteristics of the wind field depend on the stability conditions of the atmosphere, which neither of the standard turbulence models account for. The spatial and temporal distribution of the turbulence, represented by coherence, is not modeled consistently by the two standard models. In this study, the Mann spectral tensor model and the Kaimal spectral and exponential coherence model are compared with wind fields constructed from offshore measurements and obtained from large-eddy simulations. Cross sections and durations relevant for offshore wind turbine design are considered. Coherent structures from the different simulators are studied across various stability conditions and wind speeds through coherence and proper orthogonal decomposition mode plots. As expected, the standard models represent neutral stratification better than they do stable and unstable. Depending upon the method used for generating the wind field, significant differences in the spatial and temporal distribution of coherence are found. Consequently, the computed structural design loads on a wind turbine are expected to vary significantly depending upon the employed turbulence model. The knowledge gained in this study will be used in future studies to quantify the effect of various turbulence models on the dynamic response of large offshore wind turbines.

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:
1660020
Report Number(s):
NREL/JA-5000-76690; MainId:9351; UUID:cc4bd23e-c90c-4650-9b0b-1e98109d21da; MainAdminID:13780
Journal Information:
Wind Energy, Vol. 23, Issue 9; ISSN 1095-4244
Publisher:
WileyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 16 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (40)

Horizontal coherence of wind fluctuations journal July 1973
Gaussian vs non-Gaussian turbulence: impact on wind turbine loads: Gaussian vs non-Gaussian turbulence and loads journal January 2016
Validation of boundary layer parameterization schemes in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model under the aspect of offshore wind energy applications-part II: boundary layer height and atmospheric stability: WRF validation for offshore wind energy applications-part II journal May 2014
Spectral characteristics of surface-layer turbulence journal July 1972
The spatial structure of neutral atmospheric surface-layer turbulence journal August 1994
50 Years of the Monin–Obukhov Similarity Theory journal June 2006
FAST.Farm Response to Varying Wind Inflow and Discretization conference January 2019
Influence of atmospheric stability on wind turbine loads: Atmospheric stability and loads journal July 2012
A longitudinal spatial coherence model for wind evolution based on large-eddy simulation conference July 2015
The spectrum of horizontal gustiness near the ground in high winds journal April 1961
Lateral coherence in isotropic turbulence and in the natural wind journal November 1979
An experimental study of Reynolds stress and heat flux in the atmospheric surface layer journal April 1971
Velocity Spectra and Coherence Estimates in the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer journal August 2018
Wind turbine fatigue loads as a function of atmospheric conditions offshore: Offshore atmosphere and wind turbine fatigue loads journal January 2016
Measurements and Modelling of the Wind Speed Profile in the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer journal October 2008
Modeling stochastic wind loads on vertical axis wind turbines conference February 2013
Using Large-Eddy Simulations to Define Spectral and Coherence Characteristics of the Hurricane Boundary Layer for Wind-Energy Applications journal June 2017
Wind field simulation journal October 1998
Low-Dimensional Modeling of a Driven Cavity Flow with Two Free Parameters journal March 2003
Assessment of Wind Parameter Sensitivity on Extreme and Fatigue Wind Turbine Loads conference January 2018
An Introduction to Boundary Layer Meteorology book January 1988
Coherence of Turbulent Wind Under Neutral Wind Conditions at FINO1 journal September 2016
Evaluation of stability corrections in wind speed profiles over the North Sea journal April 1990
Flux-Profile Relationships in the Atmospheric Surface Layer journal March 1971
The Proper Orthogonal Decomposition in the Analysis of Turbulent Flows journal January 1993
A theoretical variation of the wind profile power-law exponent as a function of surface roughness and stability journal January 1979
The impact of the Wangara experiment journal March 1981
Investigating Coherent Structures in the Standard Turbulence Models using Proper Orthogonal Decomposition journal September 2016
The Effect of Turbulence Model on the Response of a Large Floating Wind Turbine
  • Eliassen, Lene; Bachynski, Erin E.
  • ASME 2017 36th International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering, Volume 10: Ocean Renewable Energy https://doi.org/10.1115/OMAE2017-61179
conference September 2017
On the extension of the wind profile over homogeneous terrain beyond the surface boundary layer journal March 2007
Non-dimensional wind and temperature profiles in the atmospheric surface layer: A re-evaluation journal January 1988
The effects of coherent structures on the global response of floating offshore wind turbines: The effects of coherent structures on the global response of FWTs journal October 2018
A review of flux-profile relationships journal November 1974
Progress in the Statistical Theory of Turbulence journal November 1948
Load response of a floating wind turbine to turbulent atmospheric flow journal May 2019
Estimating atmospheric stability from observations and correcting wind shear models accordingly journal December 2014
Current issues in wind energy meteorology journal August 2014
The use of fast Fourier transform for the estimation of power spectra: A method based on time averaging over short, modified periodograms journal June 1967
Spectral tensor parameters for wind turbine load modeling from forested and agricultural landscapes: Spector tensor parameters for wind loads journal February 2014
Processing of sonic anemometer measurements for offshore wind turbine applications journal October 2019