Seokkoo Kang

Computational study and modeling of turbine spacing effects in infinite aligned wind farms

We study the turbine spacing effects in infinite, aligned wind-turbine arrays using large-eddy simulation(LES) with the wind turbine rotors parameterized as actuator disks. A series of simulations is carried out to systematically investigate the different effects of streamwise and spanwise turbine spacings on the array power output and turbulence intensities. We show that for the same turbine density, increasing the streamwise spacing is more beneficial than increasing the spanwise spacing. Larger streamwise turbine spacing increases the power extraction and lowers the turbulence intensity at each turbine more efficiently than when the spanwise turbine spacing is increased. The reason for the different effects of streamwise and spanwise turbine spacings on wind farm performance is that the wake recovery of wind turbines in infinite arrays depends on the area influenced by the wind-turbine wakes, rather than the land area occupied by each turbine. Based on this idea, an improved effective roughness height model is proposed, which can account for the different effects of streamwise and spanwise turbine spacings in infinite aligned wind farms. The predictive capabilities of the new model are demonstrated via extensive comparisons with results obtained from the LES and previously proposed roughness height models.

Flow phenomena and mechanisms in a field-scale experimental meandering channel with a pool-riffle sequence: Insights gained via numerical simulation

[1]xa0Large-eddy simulation of turbulent flow through a natural-like meandering channel with pool-riffle sequences installed in the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory Outdoor StreamLab is carried out to elucidate the hydrodynamics at bankfull flow condition. It is shown that the shallow flow in the riffle is dominated by the presence of large-scale roughness elements that enhance turbulent mixing; increase turbulence anisotropy; and induce multiple, streamwise secondary cells driven by turbulence anisotropy. The flow in the pool, on the other hand, is dominated by the formation and interaction of the center region and outer bank secondary flow cells and the large horizontal recirculation regions along the inner bank. The collision of the counterrotating center region and outer bank cells at the water surface gives rise to a line of three-dimensional separation (flow convergence) in the time-averaged streamlines at the surface and the associated strong downward flow toward the bed that redistributes streamwise momentum and increases the bed shear stress along the channel thalweg. Intense turbulence is produced along the line of separation due to highly anisotropic velocity fluctuations. Our results make a strong case that the center region cell is driven by the curvature effects while the outer bank cell is driven by the combined effects of turbulence anisotropy and the curvature-induced centrifugal force. The inner bank horizontal recirculation zone consists of multiple eddies, which collectively span the entire point bar. A striking finding is that the center of the primary eddy is located directly above the crest of the point bar.

Assessing the predictive capabilities of isotropic, eddy viscosity Reynolds‐averaged turbulence models in a natural‐like meandering channel

[1]xa0The predictive capabilities of an isotropic, eddy viscosity turbulence model for closing the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations are systematically investigated by simulating turbulent flow through a field-scale meandering channel and comparing the computed results with the large-eddy simulation (LES) of the same flow recently reported by Kang and Sotiropoulos (2011). To facilitate the comparison of the two turbulence models, both RANS simulation and LES are carried on exactly the same grid with the same numerical method. The comparisons show that while the RANS model captures the curvature-driven secondary flow within the bend, it fails completely to predict other key flow features in the channel, which are predicted by the LES and also observed in flow visualization experiments. These features include the inner and outer bank shear layers, the outer bank secondary cell, and the inner bank horizontal recirculation zone. By analyzing the results of the LES, we conclusively show that flow features not predicted by the RANS calculation are located in regions of the flow with high levels of turbulence anisotropy. The extent of these regions and, consequently, the degree of disagreement between the RANS and LES predictions are shown to depend on the stream geometry and the flow rate. Our results underscore the major challenges confronting the computationally expedient, isotropic RANS models, which are widely used today in three-dimensional hydrodynamic and morphodynamic simulations.

Flow structure interaction around an axial-flow hydrokinetic turbine: Experiments and CFD simulations

We carry out large-eddy simulation of turbulent flow past a complete hydrokinetic turbine mounted on the bed of a straight rectangular open channel. The complex turbine geometry, including the rotor and all stationary components, is handled by employing the curvilinear immersed boundary (CURVIB) method [1], and velocity boundary conditions near all solid surfaces are reconstructed using a wall model based on solving the simplified boundary layer equations [2]. In this study we attempt to directly resolve flow-blade interactions without introducing turbine parameterization methods. The computed wake profiles of velocities and turbulent stresses agree well with the experimentally measured values.