Measuring the Complex Flows Found in Wind Plants

Optimizing the performance of wind plants is dependent on measuring the complex wind flows within and surrounding them, and reducing this information into practical applications and more advanced system-level control systems in order to mitigate turbine-to-turbine interaction. The TTUKa radars developed at Texas Tech University are the only technology in the world that has been proven to measure the complex flows across large sections of wind plants.

In October 2011, the National Wind Institute (NWI) made its first significant achievement using the TTUKa radar technology to instantaneously track a single utility scale turbine wake for over 30 rotor diameters downwind. Building upon this success, the team quickly collected another dataset, this time using two radar systems to fully define the horizontal wind field using dual-Doppler synthesis techniques. This information not only allowed for the study of wake evolution and structure, but also provided details about the inflow conditions across the entire rotor sweep, which was later used to accurately predict power output from the turbine.

• About Radar Turbine Wake Research
• Development Team
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News & Announcements

• The NSF CBET project “Building the Foundation for Smart Wind Farms through First-Order Controls Opportunities based on Real-Time Observations of Complex Flow” has started, and the NWI team hopes to make its first measurements in the coming months. Other projects continue with the US Department of Energy and various industry sponsors.
• In October 2014, the application of the radar technology and associated analysis techniques to the measurement of wind energy relevant complex farms was exclusively licensed by Texas Tech University to SmartWind Technologies, LLC

Animation of dual-Doppler derived complex wind field obtained from a West Texas wind farm at hub height. Click image above to view dual-Doppler animation.

NWI researchers collect dual-Doppler data with the TTUKa radars during a wind ramp event at the Chisholm View Wind Project owned by Enel Green Power North America. Click image above to view dual-Doppler animation.

For more information about the employed technology and techniques, or to pursue a complex flows measurement campaign with the NWI team, please contact: john.schroeder@ttu.edu.

A snapshot of the dual-Doppler synthesized horizontal wind speed of a single turbine wake at hub height with a wake tracking algorithm applied.