Simulation of a 5MW wind turbine in an atmospheric boundary layer

Abstract

This article presents detached eddy simulation (DES) results of a 5MW wind turbine in an unsteady atmospheric boundary layer. The evaluation performed in this article focuses on turbine blade loads as well as on the influence of atmospheric turbulence and tower on blade loads. Therefore, the turbulence transport of the atmospheric boundary layer to the turbine position is analyzed. To determine the influence of atmospheric turbulence on wind turbines the blade load spectrum is evaluated and compared to wind turbine simulation results with uniform inflow. Moreover, the influences of different frequency regimes and the tower on the blade loads are discussed. Finally, the normal force coefficient spectrum is analyzed at three different radial positions and the influence of tower and atmospheric turbulence is shown.