Abstract
We investigate the feasibility of introducing synthetic turbulence into finite-domain large-eddy simulations (LES) of the wind plant operating environment. This effort is motivated by the need for a robust mesoscale-to-microscale coupling strategy in which a microscale (wind plant) simulation is driven by mesoscale data without any resolved microscale turbulence. A neutrally stratified atmospheric boundary layer was simulated in an LES with 10-m grid spacing. We show how such a fully developed turbulence field may be reproduced with spectral enrichment starting from an under-resolved coarse LES field (with 20-m and 40-m grid spacing). The velocity spectra of the under-resolved fields are enriched by superimposing a fluctuating velocity field calculated by two turbulence simulators: TurbSim and Gabor Kinematic Simulation. Both forms of enrichment accurately simulated the autospectra of all three velocity components at high wavenumbers, with agreement between the enriched fields and the full-resolution LES observed at 400 m from the inflow boundary. In contrast, the spectra of the unenriched fields reached the same fully developed state at four times the downstream distance.
Highlights
High-fidelity wind plant simulation requires appropriate modeling of the fluid dynamics within the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) across a wide range of scales
Fetches on the order of 10 km or more have been observed in large-eddy simulation (LES) of the developing ABL [13, 14], and within this transition region, the simulated flow may not represent a realistic wind turbine operating environment
Our results have clearly demonstrated that spectral enhancement methods produce the correct spectra in the high-wavenumber range
Summary
High-fidelity wind plant simulation requires appropriate modeling of the fluid dynamics within the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) across a wide range of scales These scales include meteorological and environmental drivers at the mesoscale and a fully developed turbulence cascade at the microscale. To accurately predict the turbulent flow that impacts wind turbine performance, loads, and reliability, one must assess mesoscale effects including diurnal variation in radiative forcing, large-scale advection of heat and momentum, frontal passages, and complex terrain [6]. Incorporating these effects into a microscale large-eddy simulation (LES) requires downscaling from mesoscale data—either from simulation or measurements. This fetch length varies depending on environmental conditions and can be comparable to the extent of a modern wind plant, necessitating significantly larger computational domains
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