An experimental study on the effects of incoming wind conditions on wind turbine aeromechanics

An experimental investigation was conducted to examine the effects of incoming surface wind conditions on the wake characteristics and dynamic wind loads acting on a wind turbine model. The experimental study was performed in a large-scale wind tunnel with a scaled Horizontal Axial Wind Turbine (HAWT) model placed in two different types of Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) winds with distinct mean and turbulence characteristics. In addition to measuring dynamic wind loads acting on the model turbine by using a force-moment sensor, a high-resolution Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) system was used to achieve detailed flow field measurements to characterize the turbulent wake flows behind the model turbine. The measurement results reveal clearly that, the discrepancies in the incoming surface winds would affect the wake characteristics and dynamic wind loads acting on the model turbine dramatically. The dynamic wind loads acting on the model turbine were found to fluctuate much more significantly, thereby, much larger fatigue loads, for the case with the wind turbine model sited in the incoming ABL wind with higher turbulence intensity levels. The turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and Reynolds stress levels in the wake behind the model turbine were also found to be significantly higher for the high turbulence inflow case, in comparison to those of the low turbulence inflow case. The flow characteristics in the turbine wake were found to be dominated by the formation, shedding and breakdown of various unsteady wake vortices. In comparison with the case with relatively low turbulence intensities in the incoming ABL wind, much more turbulent and randomly shedding, faster dissipation and earlier breakdown of the wake vortices were observed for the high turbulence inflow case, which would promote the vertical transport of kinetic energy by entraining more high-speed airflow from above to re-charge the wake flow and result in a much faster recovery of the velocity deficits in - he turbine wake.