A nonlinear wake model of a wind turbine considering the yaw wake steering

Duo to fluctuations in atmospheric turbulence and yaw control strategies, wind turbines are often in a yaw state. To predict the far wake velocity field of wind turbines quickly and accurately, a wake velocity model was derived based on the method of momentum conservation considering the wake steering of the wind turbine under yaw conditions. To consider the shear effect of the vertical incoming wind direction, a two-dimensional Gaussian distribution function was introduced to model the velocity loss at different axial positions in the far wake region based on the assumption of nonlinear wake expansion. This work also developed a prediction-correction method to solve the wake velocity field, and the accuracy of the model results was verified in wake experiments on the Garrad Hassan wind turbine. Moreover, a 33-kW two-blade horizontal axis wind turbine was simulated using this method, and the results were compared with the classical wake model under the same parameters and the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation results. The results show that the nonlinear wake model well reflected the influence of incoming flow shear and yaw wake steering in the wake velocity field. Finally, computation of the wake flow for the Horns Rev offshore wind farm with 80 wind turbines showed an error within 8% compared to the experimental values. The established wake model is less computationally intensive than other methods, has a faster calculation speed, and can be used for engineering calculations of the wake velocity in the far wakefield of wind turbines.

Automated summary

In this study, a model for predicting the far wake velocity field of wind turbines under yaw conditions was proposed, and its accuracy was validated through experiments. Additionally, a prediction-correction method was developed to solve the wake velocity field, and the model was found to be computationally efficient compared to other methods, making it suitable for engineering calculations.