Evaluating techniques for redirecting turbine wakes using SOWFA

Wind plant control is an active field of research in which controllers are developed that seek to maximize overall wind-plant performance in terms of power production, turbine structural loads, or both. Such control strategies are often different from those that are optimal for an individual turbine. One type of wind-plant control method is to redirect the wakes of upstream turbines so that they avoid downstream turbines. In this paper, we investigate several possible methods for redirecting turbine wakes, including some existing and some novel approaches. The methods are compared in terms of their ability to redirect turbine wakes and their effects on turbine power capture and structural loads using the high-fidelity wind plant simulation tool Simulator for On/Offshore Wind Farm Applications (SOWFA). (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.