In this paper, we investigate the sound propagation from a wind turbine considering the effects of wake-induced velocity deficit and turbulence. In order to address this issue, an advanced approach was developed in which both scalar and vector parabolic equations in two dimensions are solved. Flow field input was obtained using the actuator line (AL) technique with Large Eddy Simulation (LES) to model the wind turbine and its wake and from an analytical wake model. The effect of incoming wind speed and atmospheric stability was investigated with the analytical wake input using a single point source. Unsteady acoustic simulations were carried out with the AL/LES input for three cases with different incoming turbulence intensity, and a moving source approach to mimic the rotating turbine blades. The results show a non-negligible effect of the wake on far-field noise prediction. Particularly under stable atmospheric conditions, SPL amplification reaches up to 7.5 dB at the wake centre. Furthermore, it was observed that when the turbulence intensity level of the incoming flow is higher, the SPL difference between the moving and the steady source is lower.

The unsteady nature of wind turbine noise is a major reason for annoyance. The variation of far-field sound pressure levels is not only caused by the continuous change in wind turbine noise source levels but also by the unsteady flow field and the ground characteristics between the turbine and receiver. To take these phenomena into account, a consistent numerical technique that models the sound propagation from the source to receiver is developed. Large eddy simulation with an actuator line technique is employed for the flow modelling and the corresponding flow fields are used to simulate sound generation and propagation. The local blade relative velocity, angle of attack, and turbulence characteristics are input to the sound generation model. Time-dependent blade locations and the velocity between the noise source and receiver are considered within a quasi-3D propagation model. Long-range noise propagation of a 5 MW wind turbine is investigated. Sound pressure level time series evaluated at the source time are studied for varying wind speeds, surface roughness, and ground impedances within a 2000 m radius from the turbine.

Increasing demand in wind energy has resulted in increasingly clustered wind farms, 1 and raised the interest in wake research dramatically in the last couple of years. To this end, 2 the present work employs an experimental approach with scaled three-bladed wind-turbine models

Minimizing the cost of energy of a wind farm is a difficult task, which involves reducing the wake effects while satisfying several constraints. Due to its multidisciplinary nature, this problem is usually solved through numerical optimisers. TOPFARM is one of these tools, and in this paper, we have added to it a constraint on the fatigue loads. The efficiency of the implementation is guaranteed by an extensive use of gradients and load surrogate models. The paper is concluded by showing some case studies.

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