Wind-tunnel simulations of wind-turbine arrays in neutral and non-neutral winds

Abstract

Wind tunnel simulations have been made of a neutral atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), a stable layer and an unstable layer, typical of offshore conditions, in order to better understand wake development and turbine-wake interactions. Measurements of the wake of a single turbine showed a slower reduction of the velocity deficit for the stable case, and a more rapid reduction for the unstable case, compared with the neutral. It is proposed that there are two effects of non-neutral conditions, indirect and direct. Indirect effects are seen in the earlier part of the wake, influenced by the turbulence level in the ABL but not by buoyancy forces directly; direct effects, caused by buoyancy forces, are seen further downstream. In the stable case, direct effects were seen from about 3 rotor diameters, while for the unstable case they were not seen until about 10 diameters. Two-point measurements in the wakes of four turbines aligned with the flow, compared with those of the ABL, exhibited very different flow characteristics, suggesting a lateral oscillation of the wakes of the later turbines. The effects of laterally adjacent turbines, in a 3-wide x 4-deep array, but with closer-than-typical lateral spacing (2.4 diameters) so as to give early interaction in the short array, were also investigated, and showed only limited interaction. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.