The actuator line technique was introduced as a numerical tool to be employed in combination with large eddy simulations to enable the study of wakes and wake interaction in wind farms. The technique is today largely used for studying basic features of wakes as well as for making performance predictions of wind farms. In this paper, we give a short introduction to the wake problem and the actuator line methodology and present a study in which the technique is employed to determine the near-wake properties of wind turbines. The presented results include a comparison of experimental results of the wake characteristics of the flow around a three-bladed model wind turbine, the development of a simple analytical formula for determining the near-wake length behind a wind turbine and a detailed investigation of wake structures based on proper orthogonal decomposition analysis of numerically generated snapshots of the wake.

Previous research has revealed the need for a validation study that considers several wake quantities and code types so that decisions on the trade-off between accuracy and computational cost can be well informed and appropriate to the intended application. In addition to guiding code choice and setup, rigorous model validation exercises are needed to identify weaknesses and strengths of specific models and guide future improvements. Here, we consider 13 approaches to simulating wakes observed with a nacelle-mounted lidar at the Scaled Wind Technology Facility (SWiFT) under varying atmospheric conditions. We find that some of the main challenges in wind turbine wake modeling are related to simulating the inflow. In the neutral benchmark, model performance tracked as expected with model fidelity, with large-eddy simulations performing the best. In the more challenging stable case, steady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes simulations were found to outperform other model alternatives because they provide the ability to more easily prescribe noncanonical inflows and their low cost allows for simulations to be repeated as needed. Dynamic measurements were only available for the unstable benchmark at a single downstream distance. These dynamic analyses revealed that differences in the performance of time-stepping models come largely from differences in wake meandering. This highlights the need for more validation exercises that take into account wake dynamics and are able to identify where these differences come from: mesh setup, inflow, turbulence models, or wake-meandering parameterizations. In addition to model validation findings, we summarize lessons learned and provide recommendations for future benchmark exercises.

Abstract. Numerical simulations of the Vestas multi-rotor demonstrator (4R-V29) are compared with field measurements of power performance and remote sensing measurements of the wake deficit from a short-range WindScanner lidar system. The simulations predict a gain of 0 %–2 % in power due to the rotor interaction at below rated wind speeds. The power curve measurements also show that the rotor interaction increases the power performance below the rated wind speed by 1.8 %, which can result in a 1.5 % increase in the annual energy production. The wake measurements and numerical simulations show four distinct wake deficits in the near wake, which merge into a single-wake structure further downstream. Numerical simulations also show that the wake recovery distance of a simplified 4R-V29 wind turbine is 1.03–1.44 Deq shorter than for an equivalent single-rotor wind turbine with a rotor diameter Deq. In addition, the numerical simulations show that the added wake turbulence of the simplified 4R-V29 wind turbine is lower in the far wake compared with the equivalent single-rotor wind turbine. The faster wake recovery and lower far-wake turbulence of such a multi-rotor wind turbine has the potential to reduce the wind turbine spacing within a wind farm while providing the same production output.

A number of large wind farms are modelled using large eddy simulations to elucidate the entrainment process. A reference simulation without turbines and three farm simulations with different degrees of imposed atmospheric turbulence are presented. The entrainment process is assessed using proper orthogonal decomposition, which is employed to detect the largest and most energetic coherent turbulent structures. The dominant length scales responsible for the entrainment process are shown to grow further into the wind farm, but to be limited in extent by the streamwise turbine spacing, which could be taken into account when developing farm layouts. The self-organized motion or large coherent structures also yield high correlations between the power productions of consecutive turbines, which can be exploited through dynamic farm control.This article is part of the themed issue 'Wind energy in complex terrains'.

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