Numerical Investigation of Stable Stratification Effects on Wind Resource Assessment in Complex Terrain

Abstract

In the present study, we perform numerical simulations considering various stable atmospheric conditions for a small-scale simple topography. Based on the obtained simulation results, we visualize the flow field and discuss drastic changes in the flow patterns. A flow pattern similar to the potential flow suddenly appears around an isolated hill as the stability increases, regardless of the inclination angle of the hill. We show that a critical Richardson number clearly exists. Furthermore, the effect of stable stratification on the evaluation of power generation is shown for typical complex terrain. We evaluate the capacity factor (%) of a 2 MW large wind turbine based on one-year virtual mast data and consider the effect of stable stratification. It is shown, in the case of stable stratification, that the capacity factor is 2.775 times greater than that under neutral stratification.

The Importance of Wind Resource Assessment in Plant Factories’ Siting

“…This completely new category of studies should be devoted to the detailed wind resource assessment of the area used to identify those zones to try and optimise their operation. Especially in complex terrain, this is more needed [7,8]. Since wind turbines appeared, wind resource analysis has been mostly linked to the performance of wind turbines [9,10].…”

Assessment of Wind over Complex Terrain Considering the Effects of Topography, Atmospheric Stability and Turbine Wakes

“…However, the atmospheric stability is not considered. Corbett et al [12] and Uchida et al [13] performed the flow simulation by considering the atmospheric stability and forest effect, but wind turbine wake is not considered.…”