Applied Math Colloquium: Dr. Charles Meneveau
Johns Hopkins University
A joint colloquium sponsored by the departments of Mechanical Engineering, Mathematics and Statistics, and Physics.
Title: Turbulence and Fluid Dynamics in Large Wind Farms
Abstract
In this presentation we discuss several properties of the flow structure and turbulence in the wind turbine array boundary layer (WTABL). This particular type of shear flow develops when the atmospheric boundary layer interacts with an array of large wind turbines. Based on such understanding, we aim to develop reduced order, analytically tractable models. These are important engineering tools for wind energy, both for design and control purposes.
After reviewing some basic tools to predict mean velocities for total power optimization, we will focus on two fluid mechanical themes relevant to wind farm control and inherent variability. We describe a simple (deterministic) dynamic wake model, its use for wind farm control, and its extensions to the case of yawed wind turbines based on a re-interpretation of lifting line theory adapted to the problem of yawed actuator disks.
The work to be presented arose from collaborations with Carl Shapiro, Dennice Gayme, Marc Calaf, Johan Meyers, Richard Stevens and Tony Martinez. We are grateful for National Science Foundation financial support.