Modeling and Investigation of the Effect of a Wind Turbine on the Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Abstract

Wind power engineering is one of the environmentally safe areas of energy and certainly makes a significant contribution to the fight against CO2 emissions. The study of the air masses movement in the zone of wind turbines and their influence on the boundary layer of the atmosphere is a fundamental basis for the efficient use of wind energy. The paper considers the theory of the movement of air masses in the rotation zone of a wind turbine, and presents an analytical review of applied methods for modeling the atmospheric boundary layer and its interaction with a wind turbine. The results of modeling the boundary layer in the wind turbine zone using the STAR CCM+ software product are presented. The wind speed and intensity of turbulence in the near and far wake of the wind turbine at nominal load parameters are investigated. There is a significant decrease in the average wind speed in the near wake of the wind generator by 3 m/s and an increase in turbulent intensity by 18.3%. When considering the long-distance track behind the wind turbine, there is a decrease in the average speed by 0.6 m/s, while the percentage taken from the average value of the turbulent intensity is 7.2% higher than in the section in front of the wind generator. The influence of a wind turbine on the change in the temperature stratification of the boundary layer is considered. The experiments revealed a temperature change (up to 0.5 K), which is insignificant, but at night the stratification reaches large values due to an increase in the temperature difference in the surface boundary layer. In the long term, the research will contribute to the sustainable and efficient development of regional wind energy.

Keywords

• mathematical modeling
• computational fluid dynamics
• turbulence
• StarCCM+
• wind farm
• atmospheric boundary layer