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The Effect of Wind Turbine Wake On Power Output
The Effect of Wind Turbine Wake On Power Output
By
Thomas Turner
Abstract
This report aims to investigate the effect of turbine wake on the power output of a wind turbine, by varying the
separation between them; then to identify the length of the near wake region. The experiment is performed in a wind
tunnel of dimensions 1m x 0.5m x 0.5m. Two wind turbines are 3D printed of rotor diameter 0.200m and height
0.200m. An aerodynamic stand is designed to reduce its interference with the wake. Measurements of coefficient of
power and tip-speed ratio are made, in order to produce a characteristic graph for the turbine which is later compared
to one of full scale. The turbine had a maximum efficiency of 1.08 ± 0.04% at a tip-speed ratio of 1.99 ± 0.05.
Measurements of power output with respect to turbine separation are performed from 0.10 to 5.00 rotor diameters,
at 0.30 rotor diameter intervals. Power output decreased as turbine separation increased in the near wake region and
both periodic and random fluctuations in power output were observed. The near wake regime ended between 3.40
± 0.04 rotor diameters and 3.70 ± 0.04 rotor diameters. At the near wake edge, power output dropped to as low as
48.8 ± 1.3% of its maximum power output. In the far wake regime, power output increased with increasing turbine
separation, however only three data points could be measured. Jensen’s model did not fit the results in this regime.
2
C ONTENTS
I Introduction 3
II Theory 3
II-A Understanding Wake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
II-B Near Wake Regime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
II-B1 Vortices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
II-B2 A cylindrical vortex system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
II-C Far Wake Regime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
II-D Tip-speed Ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
VI Conclusions 8
References 8
I. I NTRODUCTION
Of all renewable energy sources, wind energy is the fastest-
growing sector in terms of installed capacity [1]. Wind turbines
are an increasingly important energy source for the UK and are
expected to generate the majority of the 15% renewables target
by 2020 [2]. As turbines get bigger, and nameplate capacities
increase above 10MW [3], maximising their efficiency has
become more important than ever [4]. One vital consideration
when constructing an array of wind turbines is the separation
between each turbine [5]–[7].
This report aims to investigate the effect of turbine spacing
on turbine power output, by aligning two turbines perpendicu-
lar to the direction of incoming airflow separated by a distance
d. Before this is done, measurements of coefficient of power
and tip-speed ratio are performed to obtain a characteristic
graph of the turbine; which is used to compare the experiment
Fig. 1. Schematic showing the development of vortices at the blade tip. The
to a full scale turbine. pressure gradient pushes air molecules from the pressure side to the suction
side, causing tip vortices to form. More laminar flow occurs along the blade.
II. T HEORY
A. Understanding Wake 1) Vortices: The pressure just underneath the wind turbine
blade tip is higher than the pressure just above it. This forms
A wind turbine generates electricity by converting kinetic a pressure gradient and is what causes the lift effect on the
energy from incoming air molecules into a torque which rotor. The high pressure air moves over the blade tip to the
rotates the blades, which in turn, rotates a generator. The power low pressure region, causing a secondary flow. The mixing
produced by a turbine P , is defined by the equation [4], of the main flow over the blade and the secondary flow over
1 the tip generates a vortex in the region behind the blade tip
P = CP ρAU03 , (1) and causes vortices to form around the wake edge. Vortices
2
also form around the root of the blade, however due to the
where: lower axial velocity of this region, the turbulence is much less
Cp = Power coefficient compared to at the tip [11]. The root vortex counter-rotates
ρ = Density of air with respect to the direction of the turbine blades. This process
A = Rotor area is shown in Fig. 1.
U0 = Velocity of incoming air,
outside the wake. Turbulence is highest at the edge of the wake of k is semi-empirically derived to be 0.04 offshore, 0.075 for
due to the vortices. Within the cylindrical turbulent vortex open farmland and 0.117 for built up cities [15]. The thrust
system the turbulence is lower. As distance increases down coefficient CT is a dimensionless quantity and is a measure
stream, mixing between the vortices and the inner turbulence of the magnitude of thrust on the blades. It is defined as the
occurs, as shown in Fig. 3. As a result of turbulent mixing, axial thrust force divided by the dynamic force from the wind
the velocity of the near wake region decreases with increasing onto the rotor [10], which can be expressed as
distance.
The distance at which the turbulence has completely mixed Thrust force −ρAω Uω (U0 − Uω )
defines the end of the near wake regime, which is not clearly CT = = . (3)
Dynamic force 1/2ρAU02
defined. Vermeer et al. [9] and Sanderse [10] define the near
wake regime to end around 1 rotor diameter (D), whilst where:
Schepers [12] uses 2.25 D and Gomez-Elivra et al. [13] find
that the near wake ends anywhere between 2-5 D. Aω = Cross sectional area of wake
Uω = Velocity of wake at blades.
D. Tip-speed Ratio
Tip-speed ratio (TSR) λ, is the ratio of the tip speed of the
blade, to the wind speed. It is a dimensionless variable defined
as [16],
where:
Fig. 3. Schematic showing the expansion of tip vortices from the wake edge. v = tip speed of the rotor
The point where the tip vortices meet is the region of highest turbulence and ω = angular velocity of the rotor
is therefore the minimum velocity in the wake. This is the end of the near
wake region. r = rotor radius.
Fig. 4. Schematic showing the experimental set-up for power output vs. turbine separation, d. The circuit is shown, with R= 1Ω. The incoming laminar
wind, at speed U0 , becomes disturbed by the front turbine - causing the second turbine to generate less power. All measurements were carried out with U0
= 5ms−1 and over a 10 minute interval. The average power output and wind speed were recorded.
Fig. 6. Plot of coefficient of power vs. tip-speed ratio. Maximum efficiency occurs at 1.08 ± 0.04% at a TSR of 1.99 ± 0.05.
7
Fig. 8. Plot of results for average power output vs turbine separation, the first data set (blue) and the repeat measurements (red). The Jensen Model predictions
are shown in grey. All measurements made at U0 = 5.00ms−1 with the average power for each data point recorded over 10 minutes. In measurement 1,
P/Pmax dropped from 67.8 ± 1.8% at d = 0.50, to 48.8 ± 1.3% at d = 3.70 ± 0.04D. In measurement 2, P/Pmax dropped from 66.5 ± 1.8% at
d = 0.50 ± 0.03D to 55.5 ± 1.5% at d = 3.40 ± 0.03D.
B. Power output vs. Turbine separation with distance, resulting in random, more subtle changes in the
The average wind speed in 10 minutes varied from velocity gradient across the wake. This explanation matches
5.00ms−1 to 5.18ms−1 . To plot the drop in power output for the findings of L. Lignarolo et al. [18], who observed both
U0 = 5.00ms−1 these results needed to be normalised. The random and periodic fluctuations in the wake profile due to
data was normalised using the equation, turbulent mixing within the near wake regime.
The secondary minima at ∼ 1 to 1.5 D and a secondary
Power output maxima ∼ 2 D in Fig. 8 are evidence for periodic fluctua-
Pnormalised = × 5.00. (5)
Wind speed tions in power output. This is likely to be the result of the
‘leapfrogging’ mechanism of vortices, which has been studied
A plot of the normalised results at U0 = 5.00ms−1 is in great depth [19]–[21]. One would hypothesise that from ∼
displayed in Fig. 8. The formula for error in Pav /Pmax is shown 0 to 1.5 D the vortices in the wake are aligned such that the
in Appendix C. kinetic energy is travelling outwards of the wake. As a result,
The minimum power output correlates to the point in the less kinetic energy is transferred to the turbine blades and
wake with minimum velocity, and thus marks the end of the power output is reduced. A leapfrogging event occurs when
near wake regime. The near wake regime was found to lie the direction of the vortex rotates by 90◦ rapidly. The vortex
between 3.40 ± 0.04 to 3.70 ± 0.04 rotor diameters behind the is now aligned such that kinetic energy is transported towards
turbine. This contradicts the findings of both Sanderse [10] the centre of the wake, increasing the kinetic energy at the
and Vermeer et al. [9], who find the near wake to end at 1 D. turbine blades and increasing power output.
The result agrees with Gomez-Elivra et al. [13] who proposed After 3.40 ± 0.04D to 3.70 ± 0.04D, power output increases
that the near wake ends anywhere between 2-5 D, depending with distance - as predicted by the Jensen model. However,
on the design of the blades. the model over-predicts P/Pmax by ∼ 15%. This is likely
Within the near wake regime, both measurements show a because the data points are at the boundary of the near and
drop in power output with increasing distance. far regime. M. Felli et al. [22] propose a transition regime
In measurement 1, P/Pmax dropped from 67.8 ± 1.8% at between the near and far wake, which exhibits a mixture of
d = 0.50 ± 0.03D, to 48.8% ± 1.3% at d = 3.70 ± 0.04D. the properties of each regime. This is a likely explanation for
In measurement 2, P/Pmax dropped from 66.5 ± 1.8% at the disagreement between the model and results in an under
d = 0.50 ± 0.03D to 55.5% ± 1.5% at d = 3.40 ± 0.04D. prediction of the wind velocity, as some turbulence from the
Although the general trend matches the theory described near wake regime remains.
of the near wake, the plot shows that the drop in power is
not linear. A random and periodic variation in power output
V. I MPROVEMENTS & F UTURE I NVESTIGATIONS
occurs along the general downward trend. One hypothesis for
this random variation is that the random turbulent mixing The turbine structure should be improved to better reflect
of the tip vortices and the main wake results in random the design of a full scale turbine. The clamp stand in the ex-
fluctuations in wind speed. The direction of these vortices vary periment, although symmetric, had a bulky cylindrical socket
8
for the generator. The cylinder should be made less thick and [6] Souma Chowdhury, Jie Zhang, Achille Messac, and Luciano Castillo.
the screw made smaller - this would reduce the area blocking Optimizing the arrangement and the selection of turbines for wind farms
subject to varying wind conditions. Renewable Energy, 52:273–282,
wind flow and improve the validity of the comparison to full- 2013.
scale turbines. [7] M. S Adaramola and P-Å Krogstad. Experimental investigation of wake
A wider and longer tunnel would allow power output effects on wind turbine performance. Renewable Energy, 36(8):2078–
2086, 2011.
measurements of a whole array to be investigated, which is [8] U.S. DOE. 2015 wind technologies market report. Energy Efficiency
more appropriate for large-scale wind turbine research. The and Renewable Energy, 2016.
angle of attack and arrangement of the array can also be varied [9] L. J. Vermeer, J. N. Sørensen, and A. Crespo. Wind turbine wake
aerodynamics. Progress in Aerospace Sciences, 39:467–510, October
and the power output of each turbine recorded. Furthermore, 2003.
a longer wind tunnel would allow a greater comparison to the [10] B Sanderse. Aerodynamics of wind turbine wakes. Energy Research
Jensen models wake prediction, as the current range allowed Center of the Netherlands (ECN), ECN-E–09-016, Petten, The Nether-
lands, Tech. Rep, 5(15):153, 2009.
only 3-4 data points to be investigated in the far wake regime. [11] Wei Zhang, Corey D. Markfort, and Fernando Porté-Agel. Near-wake
To test the hypothesis of the periodic fluctuations in power flow structure downwind of a wind turbine in a turbulent boundary layer.
output with downstream distance, particle image velocimetry Experiments in Fluids, 52(5):1219–1235, May 2012.
[12] JG Schepers. ENDOW: Validation and improvement of ECN’s wake
(PIV) [23] should be used in the wake between the turbines. model. Energy research Centre of the Netherlands ECN, 2003.
Cross-sectional maps of the wake profile velocity could be [13] Rafael Gómez-Elvira, Antonio Crespo, Emilio Migoya, Fernando
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VI. C ONCLUSIONS 2008.
[16] Magdi Ragheb and Adam M. Ragheb. Wind turbines theory - the betz
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9
A PPENDIX A
2πU0
D ERIVING P OWER O UTPUT E QUATION ωopt ≈ (15)
ns
Kinetic energy of moving air molecules of mass m, and
The optimum tip-speed ratio can then be found by substi-
velocity v is simply,
tuting the optimal rotation frequency into Eq. 4
1
Ek = mv 2 (6) ωopt r 2π r
2 λopt ≈ ≈ (16)
U0 n s
And the mass of the air is,
From empirical evidence, the disturbed air downwind of
a wind turbine, s, is approximately half of the rotor radius
m = ρV (7)
[16]. Putting s/r ≈ 1/2 into Eq. 16, gives an estimate of the
where ρ is the density of air and V is the volume of air. optimum tip speed for an n bladed turbine:
Combining Eq. 6 and 7 The kinetic energy of the air can 4π
be expressed as, λopt ≈ (17)
n
1 This experiment investigates 3-bladed turbines. By using
Ek = ρV v 2 (8)
2 n = 3 in Eq.17, it is shown that λopt ≈ 4.2.
The volume of air ∆V , passing through the turbine in an
interval of time ∆t is, A PPENDIX C
E RROR IN P OWER D ROP
∆V = Av∆t (9) The error in Pav /Pmax consists of the error:
Where, A is the rotor area. p
δPav = (Pav (1 − cos3 (θ)))2 (18)
1 2
Ek 2 ∆V
ρv
P = = (10) p
∆t ∆t δPmax = (Pmax (1 − cos3 (θ)))2 (19)
Rearranging Eq. 9 for ∆t and substituting into Eq. 10 gives
where θ is the error in the yaw, and is estimated to be 5◦ .
the equation,
The total error in the power, Ptot is
1 2 2
ρAv 3
P = (11) ∂Ptot 2 ∂Pplot 2
2 δPtot = δPav + δPmax (20)
∂Pav ∂Pmax
As not all of the kinetic energy can be transferred from the
2 2
air to electricity, a power coefficient Cp must be introduced.
1 2 Pav 2
Giving the final equation, δPtot = δPav + δPmax (21)
Pmax Pmax2
1 Where Pplot is the power output of the data point one is
P = Cp ρAv 3 (12)
2 calculating the error for.
A PPENDIX B
O PTIMISING TSR D ERIVATION
When tip-speed ratio is optimised, there is maximum energy
extraction from the wind. This is because if the blades rotate
too slowly, wind can pass through the turbine undisturbed,
restricting the kinetic energy transferred to the blades. If the
blades rotate too quickly, not all of the air will pass through
the rotor, reducing the total amount of extracted kinetic energy.
When TSR is optimised, the time taken for the wind to
become undisturbed, ts , is equal to the time required for the
next blade to move into the position of the last blade, ts .
2π
ts = (13)
nω
s
tw = (14)
U0
where, n is the number of blades and s is the length of the
disturbed wind stream. When these times are approximately
equal, the resulting equation of Eq. 13 ≈ Eq. 14 can be
rearranged to give the optimal rotational frequency ωopt ,