Theory and verification of a new 3D RANS wake model

Abstract

This paper details the background to the WakeBlaster model: a purpose-built, parabolic three-dimensional RANS solver, developed by ProPlanEn. WakeBlaster is a field model, rather than a single turbine model; it therefore eliminates the need for an empirical wake superposition model. It belongs to a class of very fast (a few core seconds, per flow case) mid-fidelity models, which are designed for industrial application in wind farm design, operation, and control. The domain is a three-dimensional structured grid, a node spacing of a tenth of a rotor diameter, by default. WakeBlaster uses eddy viscosity turbulence closure, which is parameterized by the local shear, time-lagged turbulence development, and stability corrections for ambient shear and turbulence decay. The model prescribes a profile at the end of the near wake, and the spatial variation of ambient flow, by using output from an external flow model.