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Determination of real-time predictors of the wind turbine wake meandering

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Abstract

The present work proposes an experimental methodology to characterize the unsteady properties of a wind turbine wake, called meandering, and particularly its ability to follow the large-scale motions induced by large turbulent eddies contained in the approach flow. The measurements were made in an atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel. The wind turbine model is based on the actuator disc concept. One part of the work has been dedicated to the development of a methodology for horizontal wake tracking by mean of a transverse hot wire rake, whose dynamic response is adequate for spectral analysis. Spectral coherence analysis shows that the horizontal position of the wake correlates well with the upstream transverse velocity, especially for wavelength larger than three times the diameter of the disc but less so for smaller scales. Therefore, it is concluded that the wake is actually a rather passive tracer of the large surrounding turbulent structures. The influence of the rotor size and downstream distance on the wake meandering is studied. The fluctuations of the lateral force and the yawing torque affecting the wind turbine model are also measured and correlated with the wake meandering. Two approach flow configurations are then tested: an undisturbed incoming flow (modelled atmospheric boundary layer) and a disturbed incoming flow, with a wind turbine model located upstream. Results showed that the meandering process is amplified by the presence of the upstream wake. It is shown that the coherence between the lateral force fluctuations and the horizontal wake position is significant up to length scales larger than twice the wind turbine model diameter. This leads to the conclusion that the lateral force is a better candidate than the upstream transverse velocity to predict in real time the meandering process, for either undisturbed (wake free) or disturbed incoming atmospheric flows.

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Abbreviations

a :

Axial induction factor

Δy :

Transverse spacing between the probes that constitute the hot wire rake

α :

Power law exponent

C T :

Thrust coefficient

D :

Disc diameter

Du i :

Local velocity deficit at the ith probe position

f :

Frequency

H hub :

Disc “hub height”

I u :

Turbulent intensity for the axial velocity component defined as I u  = σ u /U

I w :

Turbulent intensity for the vertical velocity component defined as I w  = σ w /U

L :

Streamwise distance between the disc and the hot wire rake

L ux :

Integral scale for the axial velocity component

L wx :

Integral scale for the vertical velocity component

u, v, w :

Instantaneous wind velocity along x, y and z axis respectively

u*:

Friction velocity

U :

Time-averaged velocity

U ∞ :

Upstream time-averaged velocity at hub height

v upstream :

Upstream transverse velocity fluctuation

v downstream :

Downstream transverse velocity fluctuation

y wake :

Transverse wake position fluctuation

z 0 :

Roughness length

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Univ. Orléans, INSA-CVL, PRISME EA-4229, 8, rue Léonard de Vinci, 45072, Orléans Cedex 2, France

    Yann-Aël Muller & Sandrine Aubrun

  2. Ecole de Technologie Supérieure, 1100, rue Notre-Dame Ouest, Montréal, H3C 1K3, Canada

    Christian Masson

Authors
  1. Yann-Aël Muller
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  2. Sandrine Aubrun
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  3. Christian Masson
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Correspondence to Sandrine Aubrun.

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Muller, YA., Aubrun, S. & Masson, C. Determination of real-time predictors of the wind turbine wake meandering. Exp Fluids 56, 53 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-015-1923-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-015-1923-9

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