Conference proceeding
EFFECTS OF TERRAIN AND ATMOSPHERIC THERMAL STABILITY ON WIND VELOCITY PROFILES
Proceeding of 5-6th Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference (TFEC), pp.559-562
01/01/2021
DOI: 10.1615/tfec2021.fmi.032520
Abstract
The wind of the atmospheric boundary layer serves as the incoming flow and kinetic energy source for wind turbines. It remains one of the most challenging flows in fluid dynamics research due to a wide range of spatial and temporal turbulent scales that need to be resolved simultaneously. Also, it is not well established how wind velocity responds to complex terrain of a site and variations in atmospheric thermal stability. This research aims to characterize vertical wind profiles in the surface layer according to different terrain features and the atmospheric thermal stability (as determined by the gradient Richardson Number). Data sets were recorded by multiple different instruments mounted at various levels of a 106-meter tall meteorological tower at the Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Vertical profiles of mean wind speed and temperature for an entire year have been analyzed based on terrain features and the thermal stability. These profiles are compared to the 1/7th power law, which is commonly used to estimate the wind speed at turbine hub heights by extrapolating wind data at lower elevations. This work provides insights into the effects of terrain and the atmospheric thermal stability on wind profiles, crucial for assessing the onshore wind resource during planning and predicting wind loads on turbines in operation.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- EFFECTS OF TERRAIN AND ATMOSPHERIC THERMAL STABILITY ON WIND VELOCITY PROFILES
- Creators
- Robert Ahlman - Cleveland State UniversityWei Zhang - Cleveland State UniversityCorey D. Markfort - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Conference proceeding
- Publication Details
- Proceeding of 5-6th Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference (TFEC), pp.559-562
- Publisher
- Begellhouse
- DOI
- 10.1615/tfec2021.fmi.032520
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 01/01/2021
- Academic Unit
- IIHR--Hydroscience and Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; Civil and Environmental Engineering; Center for Global & Regional Environmental Research
- Record Identifier
- 9984530397302771
Metrics
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