Quantification of wake shape modulation and deflection for tilt and yaw misaligned wind turbines

Misaligned wind turbine rotors redirect the wake, and manipulate the wake shape by introducing a counter-rotating vortex pair. This mechanism is of great interest for improving wind farm power output through static or dynamic misalignment. In this study, cross-plane stereo-particle image velocimetry measurements are used to characterize the wake evolution for tilt misalignment and verify differences with yaw misalignment. Blockage from the ground, shear in the velocity profile, turbulence levels, hub-vortices and tip-vortices are found to strongly affect wake evolution for a tilted wind turbine resulting in a non-symmetric behaviour for upwards deflecting or downwards deflecting tilt. The downwards deflection of a negatively tilted wind turbine is found to result in the most benefits for wake recovery and power availability downstream through increased wake-curling, faster wake-recovery, and downdraft of high-momentum flow.

Automated summary

Misaligned wind turbine rotors manipulate wake shape by introducing a counter-rotating vortex pair, improving wind farm power output. Ground blockage, velocity profile shear, turbulence levels, hub-vortices, and tip-vortices strongly affect wake evolution for a tilted wind turbine, resulting in non-symmetric behavior. Downwards deflection of a negatively tilted wind turbine is found to provide the most benefits for wake recovery and downstream power availability.