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Title: Coherent dynamics in the rotor tip shear layer of utility-scale wind turbines

Abstract

Here, recent field experiments conducted in the near wake (up to 0.5 rotor diameters downwind of the rotor) of a Clipper Liberty C96 2.5 MW wind turbine using snow-based super-large-scale particle image velocimetry (SLPIV) were successful in visualizing tip vortex cores as areas devoid of snowflakes. The so-visualized snow voids, however, suggested tip vortex cores of complex shape consisting of circular cores with distinct elongated comet-like tails. We employ large-eddy simulation (LES) to elucidate the structure and dynamics of the complex tip vortices identified experimentally. We show that the LES, with inflow conditions representing as closely as possible the state of the flow approaching the turbine when the SLPIV experiments were carried out, reproduce vortex cores in good qualitative agreement with the SLPIV results, essentially capturing all vortex core patterns observed in the field in the tip shear layer. The computed results show that the visualized vortex patterns are formed by the tip vortices and a second set of counter-rotating spiral vortices intertwined with the tip vortices. To probe the dependence of these newly uncovered coherent flow structures on turbine design, size and approach flow conditions, we carry out LES for three additional turbines: (i) the Scaled Wind Farm Technologymore » (SWiFT) turbine developed by Sandia National Laboratories in Lubbock, TX, USA; (ii) the wind turbine developed for the European collaborative MEXICO (Model Experiments in Controlled Conditions) project; and (iii) the model turbine, and the Clipper turbine under varying inflow turbulence conditions. We show that similar counter-rotating vortex structures as those observed for the Clipper turbine are also observed for the SWiFT, MEXICO and model wind turbines. However, the strength of the counter-rotating vortices relative to that of the tip vortices from the model turbine is significantly weaker. We also show that incoming flows with low level turbulence attenuate the elongation of the tip and counter-rotating vortices. Sufficiently high turbulence levels in the incoming flow, on the other hand, tend to break up the coherence of spiral vortices in the near wake. To elucidate the physical mechanism that gives rise to such rich coherent dynamics we examine the stability of the turbine tip shear layer using the theory. We show that for all simulated cases the theory consistently indicates the flow to be unstable exactly in the region where counter-rotating spirals emerge. We thus postulate that centrifugal instability of the rotating turbine tip shear layer is a possible mechanism for explaining the phenomena we have uncovered herein.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States)
  2. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)
  3. Stony Brook Univ., Stony Brook, NY (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
OSTI Identifier:
1371470
Report Number(s):
SAND-2015-8391J
Journal ID: ISSN 0022-1120; applab; PII: S0022112016005036
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC04-94AL85000
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 804; Journal ID: ISSN 0022-1120
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
42 ENGINEERING; 17 WIND ENERGY

Citation Formats

Yang, Xiaolei, Hong, Jiarong, Barone, Matthew, and Sotiropoulos, Fotis. Coherent dynamics in the rotor tip shear layer of utility-scale wind turbines. United States: N. p., 2016. Web. doi:10.1017/jfm.2016.503.
Yang, Xiaolei, Hong, Jiarong, Barone, Matthew, & Sotiropoulos, Fotis. Coherent dynamics in the rotor tip shear layer of utility-scale wind turbines. United States. https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2016.503
Yang, Xiaolei, Hong, Jiarong, Barone, Matthew, and Sotiropoulos, Fotis. 2016. "Coherent dynamics in the rotor tip shear layer of utility-scale wind turbines". United States. https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2016.503. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1371470.
@article{osti_1371470,
title = {Coherent dynamics in the rotor tip shear layer of utility-scale wind turbines},
author = {Yang, Xiaolei and Hong, Jiarong and Barone, Matthew and Sotiropoulos, Fotis},
abstractNote = {Here, recent field experiments conducted in the near wake (up to 0.5 rotor diameters downwind of the rotor) of a Clipper Liberty C96 2.5 MW wind turbine using snow-based super-large-scale particle image velocimetry (SLPIV) were successful in visualizing tip vortex cores as areas devoid of snowflakes. The so-visualized snow voids, however, suggested tip vortex cores of complex shape consisting of circular cores with distinct elongated comet-like tails. We employ large-eddy simulation (LES) to elucidate the structure and dynamics of the complex tip vortices identified experimentally. We show that the LES, with inflow conditions representing as closely as possible the state of the flow approaching the turbine when the SLPIV experiments were carried out, reproduce vortex cores in good qualitative agreement with the SLPIV results, essentially capturing all vortex core patterns observed in the field in the tip shear layer. The computed results show that the visualized vortex patterns are formed by the tip vortices and a second set of counter-rotating spiral vortices intertwined with the tip vortices. To probe the dependence of these newly uncovered coherent flow structures on turbine design, size and approach flow conditions, we carry out LES for three additional turbines: (i) the Scaled Wind Farm Technology (SWiFT) turbine developed by Sandia National Laboratories in Lubbock, TX, USA; (ii) the wind turbine developed for the European collaborative MEXICO (Model Experiments in Controlled Conditions) project; and (iii) the model turbine, and the Clipper turbine under varying inflow turbulence conditions. We show that similar counter-rotating vortex structures as those observed for the Clipper turbine are also observed for the SWiFT, MEXICO and model wind turbines. However, the strength of the counter-rotating vortices relative to that of the tip vortices from the model turbine is significantly weaker. We also show that incoming flows with low level turbulence attenuate the elongation of the tip and counter-rotating vortices. Sufficiently high turbulence levels in the incoming flow, on the other hand, tend to break up the coherence of spiral vortices in the near wake. To elucidate the physical mechanism that gives rise to such rich coherent dynamics we examine the stability of the turbine tip shear layer using the theory. We show that for all simulated cases the theory consistently indicates the flow to be unstable exactly in the region where counter-rotating spirals emerge. We thus postulate that centrifugal instability of the rotating turbine tip shear layer is a possible mechanism for explaining the phenomena we have uncovered herein.},
doi = {10.1017/jfm.2016.503},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1371470}, journal = {Journal of Fluid Mechanics},
issn = {0022-1120},
number = ,
volume = 804,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Sep 08 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Thu Sep 08 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}

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Cited by: 36 works
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Works referencing / citing this record:

Snow-powered research on utility-scale wind turbine flows
journal, March 2020


Wind-Turbine and Wind-Farm Flows: A Review
journal, September 2019


Near-wake behaviour of a utility-scale wind turbine
journal, November 2018


Similarity of wake meandering for different wind turbine designs for different scales
journal, March 2018


A Review on the Meandering of Wind Turbine Wakes
journal, December 2019