Wind-Turbine and Wind-Farm Flows: A Review

• Published in: Boundary-layer meteorology 2020-01, Vol.174 (1), p.1-59
• Main Authors: Porté-Agel, Fernando, Bastankhah, Majid, Shamsoddin, Sina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air-turbines; Atmospheric boundary layer; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Atmospheric Sciences; Boundary layers; Buildings and facilities; Climate change; Climate change mitigation; Computational fluid dynamics; Computer applications; Design optimization; Diurnal; Diurnal cycle; Diurnal variations; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; energy; Energy resources; Environmental management; Fluid flow; Fluxes; Global temperature changes; Heterogeneity; High Reynolds number; landscapes; Loads (forces); Meteorology; Momentum; Nuclear energy; Planetary boundary layer; Power loss; prediction; Renewable energy; Renewable energy sources; Renewable resources; Research Article; Resource management; Reynolds number; Scalars; Sustainability; Temperature effects; troposphere; Turbine engines; Turbines; Turbulence; Turbulent boundary layer; turbulent flow; Turbulent fluxes; Wind; Wind farms; Wind power; Wind power generation; Wind turbines
• ISSN: 0006-8314; 1573-1472
• DOI: 10.1007/s10546-019-00473-0

Wind energy, together with other renewable energy sources, are expected to grow substantially in the coming decades and play a key role in mitigating climate change and achieving energy sustainability. One of the main challenges in optimizing the design, operation, control, and grid integration of wind farms is the prediction of their performance, owing to the complex multiscale two-way interactions between wind farms and the turbulent atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). From a fluid mechanical perspective, these interactions are complicated by the high Reynolds number of the ABL flow, its inherent unsteadiness due to the diurnal cycle and synoptic-forcing variability, the ubiquitous nature of thermal effects, and the heterogeneity of the terrain. Particularly important is the effect of ABL turbulence on wind-turbine wake flows and their superposition, as they are responsible for considerable turbine power losses and fatigue loads in wind farms. These flow interactions affect, in turn, the structure of the ABL and the turbulent fluxes of momentum and scalars. This review summarizes recent experimental, computational, and theoretical research efforts that have contributed to improving our understanding and ability to predict the interactions of ABL flow with wind turbines and wind farms.