Characterizing the coherent structures in large eddy simulations of aligned windfarms

Zhang, M.; Stevens, R.J.A.M.

doi:10.1088/1742-6596/854/1/012052

Publication 43 · Wind-farm flow

Characterizing the coherent structures in large eddy simulations of aligned windfarms

M. Zhang, R.J.A.M. Stevens, J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 854, 012052 (2017).

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Main finding

Aligned turbine rows organize large atmospheric motions into roll-like leading POD structures in the tested LES. Their modal ordering does not establish a causal energy-transfer pathway, low-dimensional dominance or general farm-control mechanism.

Leading proper orthogonal decomposition modes of an aligned wind farm — **How to read the figure.** Leading proper orthogonal decomposition modes of the flow through a periodic aligned wind farm, at hub height and in the vertical plane. The leading modes are roll-like structures one to two turbine spacings wide, and their ordering differs from the turbine-free boundary layer in Figure 4, so the array leaves a signature in which structures carry the most energy. This is structural evidence; it does not establish a causal energy pathway, low-dimensional dominance, or a control mechanism. Open the full-resolution figure. Figure 5. M. Zhang and R.J.A.M. Stevens (2017). No separate licence is stated here; consult the original publication and credited source before reuse.

Why this matters

Large atmospheric motions become spatially organized around turbine rows.

Research context

The concurrent-precursor method supplies turbulent inflow, while coupled wake–boundary-layer models frame the multiscale setting. Proper orthogonal decomposition ranks coherent energetic structures in the aligned farm; later energy-budget work diagnoses resolved transfer mechanisms rather than inferring them from modal rank.

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