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Experimental study of the wake characteristics of a two-blade horizontal axis wind turbine by time-resolved PIV

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Abstract

Wind tunnel experiments of the wake characteristics of a two-blade wind turbine, in the downstream region of 0<x/R<10, have been carried out. With the help of the time resolved particle image velocimetry (TRPIV), flow properties such as the vortex structure, average velocity, fluctuations velocities and Reynolds stresses are obtained at different tip speed ratios (TSR). It is found that the wind turbine wake flow can be divided into velocity deficit region, velocity remained region and velocity increased region, with generally higher velocity deficit compared with a three-blade wind turbine wake. Once a blade rotates to the reference 0° plane, the tip vortices generate, shed and move downstream with the intensity gradually decreased. The leapfrogging phenomenon of tip vortices caused by the force interaction of adjacent vortices is found and more apparent in the far wake region. The axial fluctuation velocity is larger than radial fluctuation velocity at the blade root region, and the turbulent kinetic energy shares the similar trend as the axial fluctuation velocity. The axial normalized Reynolds normal stress is much larger than the radial normalized Reynolds normal stress and Reynolds shear stress at the blade root region. As the TSR increases, the radial location where the peak axial normalized Reynolds normal stress \(\overline{u'u'}\) / U 2 and axial fluctuation velocity appear descends in the radial direction.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Energy and Power Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Huhhot, 010051, China

    LiRu Zhang, JianWen Wang, XueQing Dong & JianLong Ma

  2. Key Laboratory of Wind and Solar Power Energy Utilization Technology Ministry of Education and Inner Mongolia Construction, Huhhot, 010051, China

    LiRu Zhang, JianWen Wang, XueQing Dong & JianLong Ma

  3. State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China

    JiangKuan Xing, RenYu Yuan, Kun Luo, KunZan Qiu, MingJiang Ni & KeFa Cen

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  1. LiRu Zhang
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  2. JiangKuan Xing
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  7. Kun Luo
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Correspondence to Kun Luo.

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Zhang, L., Xing, J., Wang, J. et al. Experimental study of the wake characteristics of a two-blade horizontal axis wind turbine by time-resolved PIV. Sci. China Technol. Sci. 60, 593–601 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-016-0558-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-016-0558-1

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