Skip to main content
OSTI.GOVU.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
 

Mechanisms of Dynamic Near-Wake Modulation of a Utility-Scale Wind Turbine

Journal Article · · Journal of Fluid Mechanics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2021.737· OSTI ID:1826118
; ;

The current study uses large eddy simulations to investigate the transient response of a utility-scale wind turbine wake to dynamic changes in atmospheric and operational conditions, as observed in previous field-scale measurements. Most wind turbine wake investigations assume quasi-steady conditions, but real wind turbines operate in a highly stochastic atmosphere, and their operation (e.g. blade pitch, yaw angle) changes constantly in response. Furthermore, dynamic control strategies have been recently proposed to optimize wind farm power generation and longevity. Therefore, improved understanding of dynamic wake behaviours is essential. First, changes in blade pitch are investigated and the wake expansion response is found to display hysteresis as a result of flow inertia. The time scales of the wake response to different pitch rates are quantified. Next, changes in wind direction with different time scales are explored. Under short time scales, the wake deflection is in the opposite direction of that observed under quasi-steady conditions. Finally, yaw changes are implemented at different rates, and the maximum inverse wake deflection and time scale are quantified, showing a clear dependence on yaw rate. To gain further physical understanding of the mechanism behind the inverse wake deflection, the streamwise vorticity in different parts of the wake is quantified. The results of this study provide guidance for the design of advanced wake flow control algorithms. The lag in wake response observed for both blade pitch and yaw changes shows that proposed dynamic control strategies must implement turbine operational changes with a time scale of the order of the rotor time scale or slower.

Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); National Science Foundation (NSF)
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1826118
Report Number(s):
NREL/JA-5000-81215; MainId:81988; UUID:f6142f81-0bfc-4b2c-b92d-2e76abb687ac; MainAdminID:63168
Journal Information:
Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 926
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (65)

A numerical study of tilt‐based wake steering using a hybrid free‐wake method February 2020
Dynamic wake modeling and state estimation for improved model-based receding horizon control of wind farms May 2017
A Review on the Meandering of Wind Turbine Wakes December 2019
Quantifying Wind Turbine Wake Characteristics from Scanning Remote Sensor Data April 2014
Experimental Study on Influence of Pitch Motion on the Wake of a Floating Wind Turbine Model March 2014
ℋ∞ controller design for closed-loop wake redirection May 2017
Large eddy simulations of the flow past wind turbines: actuator line and disk modeling: LES of the flow past wind turbines: actuator line and disk modeling April 2014
Periodic dynamic induction control of wind farms: proving the potential in simulations and wind tunnel experiments January 2020
Natural snowfall reveals large-scale flow structures in the wake of a 2.5-MW wind turbine June 2014
A point vortex transportation model for yawed wind turbine wakes March 2020
Validation of the actuator line method using near wake measurements of the MEXICO rotor: Validation of the ACL method January 2014
Review of computational fluid dynamics for wind turbine wake aerodynamics February 2011
Experimental and theoretical study of wind turbine wakes in yawed conditions October 2016
The aerodynamics of the curled wake: a simplified model in view of flow control January 2019
RANS Computations of MEXICO Rotor in Uniform and Yawed Inflow October 2013
Experimental investigation of wind turbine wake and load dynamics during yaw maneuvers January 2021
Effect of turbine nacelle and tower on the near wake of a utility-scale wind turbine October 2019
Initial results from a field campaign of wake steering applied at a commercial wind farm – Part 1 January 2019
Comparison of wind turbine wake properties in non-sheared inflow predicted by different computational fluid dynamics rotor models: Comparison of wake properties predicted by different rotor models April 2014
Wind turbine wake models developed at the technical university of Denmark: A review July 2016
Experimental study of the instability of unequal-strength counter-rotating vortex pairs January 2003
Optimal control of energy extraction in wind-farm boundary layers February 2015
A new analytical model for wind-turbine wakes October 2014
Mutual inductance instability of the tip vortices behind a wind turbine August 2014
Modelling yawed wind turbine wakes: a lifting line approach February 2018
Dynamics and Instabilities of Vortex Pairs January 2016
Wake structure in actuator disk models of wind turbines in yaw under uniform inflow conditions July 2016
Tip-vortex instability and turbulent mixing in wind-turbine wakes September 2015
Evaluation of different methods for determining the angle of attack on wind turbine blades with CFD results under axial inflow conditions September 2018
Large-eddy simulation of a very large wind farm in a stable atmospheric boundary layer June 2011
A stochastic wind turbine wake model based on new metrics for wake characterization: A stochastic wind turbine wake model based on new metrics for wake characterization August 2016
Parametric dependencies of the yawed wind‐turbine wake development April 2020
Mechanisms of evolution of the propeller wake in the transition and far fields May 2011
Wind turbine wake estimation and control using FLORIDyn, a control-oriented dynamic wind plant model July 2015
Application of a LES technique to characterize the wake deflection of a wind turbine in yaw December 2009
Incoming flow measurements of a utility-scale wind turbine using super-large-scale particle image velocimetry February 2020
LiDAR measurements for an onshore wind farm: Wake variability for different incoming wind speeds and atmospheric stability regimes December 2019
Dynamic Strategies for Yaw and Induction Control of Wind Farms Based on Large-Eddy Simulation and Optimization January 2018
Performance optimization of a wind turbine column for different incoming wind turbulence February 2018
Turbulence effects on a full-scale 2.5 MW horizontal-axis wind turbine under neutrally stratified conditions: Turbulence effects on a full-scale wind turbine January 2014
Active wake control: An approach to optimize the lifetime operation of wind farms: Active wake control: An approach to optimize the lifetime operation of wind farms February 2018
Comparison of Field Measurements and Large Eddy Simulations of the Scaled Wind Farm Technology (SWiFT) Site November 2019
Experimental analysis on the dynamic wake of an actuator disc undergoing transient loads September 2017
Assessment of blockage effects on the wake characteristics and power of wind turbines August 2016
Quantification of wake shape modulation and deflection for tilt and yaw misaligned wind turbines April 2021
Evaluating tilt for wind plants May 2017
Coherent dynamics in the rotor tip shear layer of utility-scale wind turbines September 2016
Rapidly Recovering Wind Turbine Wakes with Dynamic Pitch and Rotor Speed Control January 2021
Towards practical dynamic induction control of wind farms: analysis of optimally controlled wind-farm boundary layers and sinusoidal induction control of first-row turbines January 2018
Optimal dynamic induction control of a pair of inline wind turbines August 2018
Grand challenges in the science of wind energy October 2019
Wind-Turbine and Wind-Farm Flows: A Review September 2019
Dynamic wake modulation induced by utility-scale wind turbine operation January 2020
A new Gaussian-based analytical wake model for wind turbines considering ambient turbulence intensities and thrust coefficient effects June 2018
Near-wake behaviour of a utility-scale wind turbine November 2018
Stability analysis of the tip vortices of a wind turbine March 2010
Challenges in modelling the unsteady aerodynamics of wind turbines January 2002
Transient response of the flexible blade of horizontal-axis wind turbines in wind gusts and rapid yaw changes February 2018
Comparison of four large-eddy simulation research codes and effects of model coefficient and inflow turbulence in actuator-line-based wind turbine modeling May 2018
An optimal control framework for dynamic induction control of wind farms and their interaction with the atmospheric boundary layer March 2017
Optimal closed-loop wake steering – Part 1: Conventionally neutral atmospheric boundary layer conditions January 2020
On the onset of wake meandering for an axial flow turbine in a turbulent open channel flow March 2014
Numerical Modeling of Wind Turbine Wakes May 2002
Instability of helical tip vortices in rotor wakes August 2011
Flow Structure and Turbulence in Wind Farms January 2017

Similar Records

Related Subjects

WIND ENERGY
flow-structure interactions
vortex dynamics
wakes