Model wind turbine arrays were developed for the purpose of investigating the wake interaction and turbine canopy layer in a standard cartesian and row-offset turbine array configurations. Stereographic particle image velocimetry was used to collect flow data upstream and downstream of entrance and exit row turbines in each configuration. Wakes for all cases were analyzed for energy content and recovery behavior including entrainment of high-momentum flow from above the turbine canopy layer. The row-offset arrangement of turbines within an array grants an increase in streamwise spacing of devices and allows for greater wake remediation between successive rows. These effects are seen in exit row turbine wakes as changes to statistical quantities including the in-plane Reynolds stress, uv, and the production of turbulence. The recovery of wakes also strongly mitigates the perceived underperformance of wind turbines within an array. The flux of kinetic energy is demonstrated to be more localized in the entrance rows and in the offset arrangement. Extreme values for the flux of kinetic energy are about 7:5% less in the exit row of the cartesian arrangement than in the offset arrangement. Measurements of mechanical torque at entrance and exit row turbines lead to curves of power coefficient and demonstrate an increase in efficiency in row-offset configurations.
To understand the complex flow phenomena over wind turbine blades during stall development, a scaled three-dimensional non-rotating blade model is designed to be dynamically similar to a rotating full-scale NREL 5 MW wind turbine blade. A time-resolved particle image velocimetry (PIV) investigation of flow behavior during the stall cycle examines the processes of stall development and flow reattachment. Proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) and vortex detection techniques are applied to the PIV fields to quantify relevant flow characteristics such as vortex size, separation angle, and separation point throughout a dynamic pitching cycle. The behavior of the POD coefficients provides time scales for the transitional stages which are quantified and compared, revealing that transition from attached flow to full stall is delayed to higher angles of attack and occurs at a higher rate than the transition from full stall to attached flow. The instantaneous flow fields are then reconstructed using the first four POD modes to demonstrate their prominent roles throughout the stall cycle and their ability to capture the general separation behavior over the blade surface.
The Markovian properties within a wind turbine array boundary layer are explored for data taken in a wind tunnel containing a model wind turbine array. A stochastic analysis of the data is carried out using the mathematics of Markov processes. The data were obtained using hot-wire anemometry thus providing point velocity statistics. The theory of Markov process is applied to obtain a statistical description of longitudinal velocity increments inside the turbine wake. Comparison of twoand three-scale conditional probability density functions indicates the existence of Markovian properties in longitudinal velocity increments for scale differences larger than the Taylor microscale. This result is quantified by use of the Wilcoxon rank-sum test which verifies that this relationship holds independent of initial scale selection outside of the near-wake region behind a wind turbine. Furthermore, at the locations which demonstrate Markovian properties, there appears to be a well defined inertial subrange which follows Kolmogorov's À5/3 scaling behavior. The results show that directly behind the tips of the rotor and the hub, the complex turbulent interactions and large scale structures of the near-wake affect the Markovian nature of the field. The presence of a Markov process in the remaining locations leads to characterization of the development multiscale statistics of the wind turbine wakes using the most recent states of the flow. V C 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.
Unsteady flow separation in rotationally augmented flow fields plays a significant role in a variety of fundamental flows. Through the use of time-resolved particle image velocimetry, vorticity accumulation and vortex shedding during unsteady separation over a three-dimensional airfoil are examined. The results of the study describe the critical role of surface vorticity accumulation during unsteady separation and reattachment. Through evaluation of the unsteady characteristics of the shear layer, it is demonstrated that the buildup and shedding of surface vorticity directly influence the dynamic changes of the separation point location. The quantitative characterization of surface vorticity and shear layer stability enables improved aerodynamic designs and has a broad impact within the field of unsteady fluid dynamics.
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