Large eddy simulation study of extended wind farms with large inter turbine spacing

Stevens, R.J.A.M.; Meneveau, C.

doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1618/6/062011

Large eddy simulation study of extended wind farms with large inter turbine spacing

R.J.A.M. Stevens, C. Meneveau, J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 1618, 062011 (2020).

Main finding

Aligned power gains from added spanwise spacing saturate around 4–5D; secondary sideways-wake effects are negligible at very large s_x in the tested configurations. Staggering strongly benefits entrance rows. In the fully developed regime the benefit depends on s_y: aligned and staggered are similar at 3.49D, differ substantially at 7.85D, and gain little further at 11.78D.

Row power against downstream position for aligned and staggered arrays at seven streamwise spacings — **How to read the figure.** Power per turbine row against downstream position for aligned (black) and staggered (red) arrays at four spanwise spacings, in seven panels covering the range of streamwise spacings tested. Staggering benefits the entrance rows strongly in every case. In the fully developed region the benefit depends on spanwise spacing: the two layouts are similar at 3.49 diameters, differ substantially at 7.85, and gain little more at 11.78. Open the full-resolution figure. Figure 2. R.J.A.M. Stevens and C. Meneveau (2020). No separate licence is stated here; consult the original publication and credited source before reuse.

Why this matters

Supports extending layout reasoning beyond conventional 6–10D spacing and a regime-dependent model hierarchy.

Research context

The sweep covers neutral actuator-disk farms with at least ten rows. Aligned gains from added spanwise spacing saturate near four to five rotor diameters, while staggering primarily benefits the entrance rows.

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