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Experimental investigation on the wake interference among wind turbines sited in atmospheric boundary layer winds

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Abstract

We examined experimentally the effects of incoming surface wind on the turbine wake and the wake interference among upstream and downstream wind turbines sited in atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) winds. The experiment was conducted in a large-scale ABL wind tunnel with scaled wind turbine models mounted in different incoming surface winds simulating the ABL winds over typical offshore/onshore wind farms. Power outputs and dynamic loadings acting on the turbine models and the wake flow characteristics behind the turbine models were quantified. The results revealed that the incoming surface winds significantly affect the turbine wake characteristics and wake interference between the upstream and downstream turbines. The velocity deficits in the turbine wakes recover faster in the incoming surface winds with relatively high turbulence levels. Variations of the power outputs and dynamic wind loadings acting on the downstream turbines sited in the wakes of upstream turbines are correlated well with the turbine wakes characteristics. At the same downstream locations, the downstream turbines have higher power outputs and experience greater static and fatigue loadings in the inflow with relatively high turbulence level, suggesting a smaller effect of wake interference for the turbines sited in onshore wind farms.

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Acknowledgements

The authors want to thank the funding support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) (Grants CBET-1133751 and CBET-1438099). Wei Tian also wants to thank the support from the National Key Technology Support Program of China (Grant 2015BAA06B04) and Shanghai Natural Science Foundation (Grant 16ZR1417600).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

    W. Tian

  2. Department of Aerospace Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA

    W. Tian, A. Ozbay & H. Hu

  3. School of Energy, Power and Mechanical Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, 102206, China

    X. D. Wang

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  1. W. Tian
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  2. A. Ozbay
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  3. X. D. Wang
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  4. H. Hu
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Correspondence to H. Hu.

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Tian, W., Ozbay, A., Wang, X.D. et al. Experimental investigation on the wake interference among wind turbines sited in atmospheric boundary layer winds. Acta Mech. Sin. 33, 742–753 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-017-0684-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-017-0684-5

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