Abstract
Abstract. Recent research promotes implementing next-generation wind plant control methods to mitigate turbine-to-turbine wake effects. Numerical simulation and wind tunnel experiments have previously demonstrated the potential benefit of wind plant control for wind plant optimization, but full-scale validation of the wake-mitigating control strategies remains limited. As part of this study, the yaw and blade pitch of a utility-scale wind turbine were strategically modified for a limited time period to examine wind turbine wake response to first-order turbine control changes. Wind turbine wake response was measured using Texas Tech University's Ka-band Doppler radars and dual-Doppler scanning strategies. Results highlight some of the complexities associated with executing and analyzing wind plant control at full scale using brief experimental control periods. Some difficulties include (1) the ability to accurately implement the desired control changes, (2) identifying reliable data sources and methods to allow these control changes to be accurately quantified, and (3) attributing variations in wake structure to turbine control changes rather than a response to the underlying atmospheric conditions (e.g., boundary layer streak orientation, atmospheric stability). To better understand wake sensitivity to the underlying atmospheric conditions, wake evolution within the early-evening transition was also examined using a single-Doppler data collection approach. Analysis of both wake length and meandering during this period of transitioning atmospheric stability indicates the potential benefit and feasibility of wind plant control should be enhanced when the atmosphere is stable.
Highlights
During wind turbine operation, momentum is extracted from the inflow, creating a waked region downstream containing less wind speed and more turbulence than the inflow (Manwell et al, 2009)
Based on comparison to the the left (TL) and TR, there was insufficient evidence to indicate the performance of the TT was significantly modified by implementing the experimental control offsets
The prevalence of atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) streaks might have contributed to the ineffectiveness of yaw-based wake steering, there was insufficient evidence to conclude they are the root cause of the mean sign of θsVkew. Regardless, these results are important because they suggest that in certain ABLs implementing yaw error might not be sufficient to ensure effective wake steering; rather, an integrated knowledge of ABL heterogeneities and their characteristics is needed. These results demonstrate the importance of research that examines the impact of transient ABL heterogeneities and coherent turbulent structures on wind turbine wake structure and variability
Summary
Momentum is extracted from the inflow, creating a waked region downstream containing less wind speed and more turbulence than the inflow (Manwell et al, 2009). Few studies have used advanced measurement technologies (such as lidar or radar) to document differences in wake structure due to the turbine control changes implemented as part of wind plant control (e.g., Trujillo et al, 2016; Fleming et al, 2017b). These studies almost exclusively limit wake measurement to the near-wake region and, are unable to monitor the downstream progression of these control-induced wake modifications. To highlight wake sensitivity to atmospheric stability, and to determine how atmospheric stability impacts wind plant control efforts, onshore wake evolution within the early-evening transition (EET) was investigated using a single-Doppler (SD) data collection approach
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