CAREER:Tackling Fluid Dynamics at Full Scale for Wind Energy Applications

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1454259HongThe goal of this proposal is to explore the structure of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) directly at field scales by tracking the trajectories of snowflakes and using them as flow tracers. This approach will remove scaling and modeling adjustments currently made in scaled down wind tunnel experiments. Findings from this research will impact directly the wind energy industry. The proposed research activities are integrated into the educational plan of the proposal, which is centered on the use of the field laboratory and the wind turbine as a hands-on learning facility. Teachers, graduate and undergraduate students will participate in this project. The PI proposes to develop a super-large-scale particle image velocimetry (SLPIV) technique that will be complemented by laboratory scale experiments to understand full-scale wake dynamics around wind turbines. The innovation of this proposal is that SLPIV will be implemented by using snowflakes as natural tracers to quantify incoming turbulence and wake flow fields around a fully-instrumented wind turbine at the University of Minnesota. The field data will then inform the design of laboratory scale experiments that will aim to reproduce the key full-scale wake phenomena by tuning controllable experimental parameters. This proposal's goal to decipher the dynamics of the atmospheric layer behind a full scale wind turbine has both fundamental and practical importance. Better understanding of the turbine wake behavior and the fluid-solid interaction can lead to 10-20% improvements in the efficiency of wind turbines, while the establishment of the SLPIV as a ubiquitous experimental method can allow its use to study large scale ABL turbulence. Our climate, agriculture, and commerce are affected by the turbulence within the ABL.