Creator:
Date:
Abstract:
This research is to characterize the wake effect from a cluster of large-scale offshore wind turbines with the purpose of optimizing spacing between separate farms to avoid wake interference. Placing wind turbines within a field of disturbed flow decreases power output, and in some cases, threatens structural integrity. Unsteady loading and fluxes in wind turbine power generation are born out of turbulence and can further lead to a reduction in the overall energy production of a wind farm. As the offshore wind industry exhibits rapid growth, an immediate need for standards that enable optimization of farm placement for offshore development exists. Wake characterization was accomplished in this research through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling.