The spatial organization of wind turbine wakes

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Lengyel, Janka, Roux, Stéphane G., Abry, Patrice, Wildmann, Norman, Menken, Julia, Bonin, Olivier, Friedrich, Jan
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Lengyel, Janka
Roux, Stéphane G.
Abry, Patrice
Wildmann, Norman
Menken, Julia
Bonin, Olivier
Friedrich, Jan
author_facet Lengyel, Janka
Roux, Stéphane G.
Abry, Patrice
Wildmann, Norman
Menken, Julia
Bonin, Olivier
Friedrich, Jan
contents Wind turbine wakes play a central role in determining wind farm performance, yet their spatial organization remains only partially understood. Here, we apply a spatially localized multifractal analysis to quantify the strength of dependencies (local roughness) and extreme velocity fluctuations (local intermittency) in turbine wakes, and relate these properties to established metrics in wind energy research. Using two-dimensional nacelle-mounted LiDAR plan-position-indicator scans, we extract scale-invariant features that enable systematic comparisons across the wake without requiring time-resolved data. Designed to robustly handle irregular sampling, our analysis yields four main findings: i.) Four distinct wake zones are identified, each exhibiting unique patterns of roughness and intermittency. ii.) Coherent, strongly correlated patches emerge 2 to 5 rotor diameters D downstream, with intermittency strengthening periodically at multiple D positions and along the wake-free-flow interface. iii.) The classical "intermittency ring" is consequently redefined as a set of localized "intermittency bubbles", iv.) which interact dynamically with the ambient atmosphere through an inverse energy cascade, transferring energy from small to large scales. These findings, supported by concurrent cup anemometer observations under free-inflow conditions, demonstrate that local multifractal analysis provides a robust and cost-effective diagnostic framework for wake characterization and wake-model validation, with direct relevance for wind-farm design and control.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_14804
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The spatial organization of wind turbine wakes
Lengyel, Janka
Roux, Stéphane G.
Abry, Patrice
Wildmann, Norman
Menken, Julia
Bonin, Olivier
Friedrich, Jan
Fluid Dynamics
Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics
Wind turbine wakes play a central role in determining wind farm performance, yet their spatial organization remains only partially understood. Here, we apply a spatially localized multifractal analysis to quantify the strength of dependencies (local roughness) and extreme velocity fluctuations (local intermittency) in turbine wakes, and relate these properties to established metrics in wind energy research. Using two-dimensional nacelle-mounted LiDAR plan-position-indicator scans, we extract scale-invariant features that enable systematic comparisons across the wake without requiring time-resolved data. Designed to robustly handle irregular sampling, our analysis yields four main findings: i.) Four distinct wake zones are identified, each exhibiting unique patterns of roughness and intermittency. ii.) Coherent, strongly correlated patches emerge 2 to 5 rotor diameters D downstream, with intermittency strengthening periodically at multiple D positions and along the wake-free-flow interface. iii.) The classical "intermittency ring" is consequently redefined as a set of localized "intermittency bubbles", iv.) which interact dynamically with the ambient atmosphere through an inverse energy cascade, transferring energy from small to large scales. These findings, supported by concurrent cup anemometer observations under free-inflow conditions, demonstrate that local multifractal analysis provides a robust and cost-effective diagnostic framework for wake characterization and wake-model validation, with direct relevance for wind-farm design and control.
title The spatial organization of wind turbine wakes
topic Fluid Dynamics
Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.14804