Influence of atmospheric stability on wind-turbine wakes: A large-eddy simulation study

Abkar, Mahdi; Porté‐Agel, Fernando

doi:10.1063/1.4913695

Cited by 335 publications

(275 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…The contrast of wakes in different atmospheric stabilities was, nonetheless, not discussed. Abkar and Porté-Agel (2015) hypothesized that the maximum wind-speed deficit occurred at hub height regardless of atmospheric stability, though we have found different results in this case study: the height of maximum wind-speed deficit changes over time as the atmosphere evolves from unstable to stable stratification.…”

Section: Wake Evolution With Heights and Wind Directionsmentioning

confidence: 38%

“…Moreover, after the evening transition, the hub-height wind-speed deficit persists for more than 15 km downwind, while the turbulence enhancement vanishes beyond 10 km downwind. In contrast to LES studies with constant atmospheric stratification (Churchfield et al 2012;Mirocha et al 2014Mirocha et al , 2015Abkar and Porté-Agel 2015;Vanderwende et al 2016a), the wake structure illustrated herein varies both temporally and spatially downwind of the wind farm. The turbine locations in these simulations, based on an actual wind farm, contribute to this variability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 48%

“…7). Previous studies (Aitken et al 2014a;Bhaganagar and Debnath 2015;Abkar and Porté-Agel 2015) did not examine the effects of atmospheric stratification on the height of the maximum wind-speed deficit in the wake, and our study has demonstrated the strong influence of evolving stability on the height of the maximum wake. Empirical reduced-order wake models (Jensen 1983;Katíc et al 1986) could therefore be modified to account for evolving stability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…At a downwind distance of 6.5 times the rotor diameter (D), the flow experiences up to 25% wind-speed reduction in a weakly convective regime (Mirocha et al 2014). LES has also revealed that the wind-speed deficit extends further downwind, the turbulence generation decreases and the overall wake recovers more slowly in the stable PBL than in the unstable PBL (Abkar and Porté-Agel 2015;Bhaganagar and Debnath 2015;Mirocha et al 2015). However, modelled turbine wakes grow horizontally twice as rapidly, and the wake meanders from the wake centreline to a greater extent in convective than in stable conditions (Abkar and Porté-Agel 2015;Vanderwende et al 2016a).…”

Section: Turbine-wake Simulationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…LES has also revealed that the wind-speed deficit extends further downwind, the turbulence generation decreases and the overall wake recovers more slowly in the stable PBL than in the unstable PBL (Abkar and Porté-Agel 2015;Bhaganagar and Debnath 2015;Mirocha et al 2015). However, modelled turbine wakes grow horizontally twice as rapidly, and the wake meanders from the wake centreline to a greater extent in convective than in stable conditions (Abkar and Porté-Agel 2015;Vanderwende et al 2016a). Unfortunately, examining the wake behaviour of a sizable wind farm using LES is computationally expensive (Churchfield et al 2012), and the simulation of wind-farm impacts using mesoscale meteorological models is more practical.…”

Section: Turbine-wake Simulationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Observing and Simulating Wind-Turbine Wakes During the Evening Transition

Lee

Lundquist

2017

Boundary-Layer Meteorol

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Wind-turbine-wake evolution during the evening transition introduces variability to wind-farm power production at a time of day typically characterized by high electricity demand. During the evening transition, the atmosphere evolves from an unstable to a stable regime, and vertical stratification of the wind profile develops as the residual planetary boundary layer decouples from the surface layer. The evolution of wind-turbine wakes during the evening transition is examined from two perspectives: wake observations from single turbines, and simulations of multiple turbine wakes using the mesoscale Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Throughout the evening transition, the wake's wind-speed deficit and turbulence enhancement are confined within the rotor layer when the atmospheric stability changes from unstable to stable. The height variations of maximum upwind-downwind differences of wind speed and turbulence intensity gradually decrease during the evening transition. After verifying the WRF-model-simulated upwind wind speed, wind direction and turbulent kinetic energy profiles with observations, the wind-farm-scale wake evolution during the evening transition is investigated using the WRF-model wind-farm parametrization scheme. As the evening progresses, due to the presence of the wind farm, the modelled hub-height wind-speed deficit monotonically increases, the relative turbulence enhancement at hub height grows by 50%, and the downwind surface sensible heat flux increases, reducing surface cooling. Overall, the intensifying wakes from upwind turbines respond to the evolving atmospheric boundary layer during the evening transition, and undermine the power production of downwind turbines in the evening.

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Section: Wake Evolution With Heights and Wind Directionsmentioning

confidence: 38%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 48%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Turbine-wake Simulationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Turbine-wake Simulationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Observing and Simulating Wind-Turbine Wakes During the Evening Transition

Lee

Lundquist

2017

Boundary-Layer Meteorol

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Toward understanding the physical link between turbines and microclimate impacts from in situ measurements in a large wind farm

et al. 2016

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Recent wind farm studies have revealed elevated nighttime surface temperatures but have not validated physical mechanisms that create the observed effects. We report measurements of concurrent differences in surface wind speed, temperature, fluxes, and turbulence upwind and downwind of two turbine lines at the windward edge of a utility‐scale wind farm. On the basis of these measurements, we offer a conceptual model based on physical mechanisms of how wind farms affect their own microclimate. Periods of documented curtailment and zero‐power production of the wind farm offer useful opportunities to rigorously evaluate the microclimate impact of both stationary and operating turbines. During an 80 min nighttime wind farm curtailment, we measured abrupt and large changes in turbulent fluxes of momentum and heat leeward of the turbines. At night, wind speed decreases in the near wake when turbines are off but abruptly increases when turbine operation is resumed. Our measurements are compared with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Terra and Aqua satellite measurements reporting wind farms to have higher nighttime surface temperatures. We demonstrate that turbine wakes modify surface fluxes continuously through the night, with similar magnitudes during the Terra and Aqua transit periods. Cooling occurs in the near wake and warming in the far wake when turbines are on, but cooling is negligible when turbines are off. Wind speed and surface stratification have a regulating effect of enhancing or decreasing the impact on surface microclimate due to turbine wake effects.

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Simulating effects of a wind‐turbine array using LES and RANS

Vanderwende

Kosović

Lundquist

et al. 2016

J Adv Model Earth Syst

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Growth in wind power production has motivated investigation of wind‐farm impacts on in situ flow fields and downstream interactions with agriculture and other wind farms. These impacts can be simulated with both large‐eddy simulations (LES) and mesoscale wind‐farm parameterizations (WFP). The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model offers both approaches. We used the validated generalized actuator disk (GAD) parameterization in WRF‐LES to assess WFP performance. A 12‐turbine array was simulated using the GAD model and the WFP in WRF. We examined the performance of each scheme in both convective and stable conditions. The GAD model and WFP produced qualitatively similar wind speed deficits and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) production across the array in both stability regimes, though the magnitudes of velocity deficits and TKE production levels were underestimated and overestimated, respectively. While wake growth slowed in the latter half of the WFP array as expected, wakes did not approach steady state by the end of the array as simulated by the GAD model. A sensitivity test involving the deactivation of explicit TKE production by the WFP resulted in turbulence levels within the array well that were below those produced by the GAD in both stable and unstable conditions. Finally, the WFP overestimated downwind power production deficits in stable conditions because of the lack of wake stabilization in the latter half of the array.

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Influence of atmospheric stability on wind-turbine wakes: A large-eddy simulation study

Cited by 335 publications

References 47 publications

Observing and Simulating Wind-Turbine Wakes During the Evening Transition

Observing and Simulating Wind-Turbine Wakes During the Evening Transition

Toward understanding the physical link between turbines and microclimate impacts from in situ measurements in a large wind farm

Simulating effects of a wind‐turbine array using LES and RANS

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