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The present work examines the local structure and downstream evolution of both longitudinal vortexes behind the vortex generators and the helical tip vortices generated by the rotating 3-bladed rotor. Both wakes flow with the strong longitudinal or helical vortices have been studied by stereo PIV measurements in a wind tunnel or a water flume accordingly. The vorticity field was calculated from the measured velocity fields. The downstream development of vortex local cores investigates by using self-similarity scaling arguments and local helical symmetry tests simultaneously. It was analyzed Batchelor’s vortex and 2-D vortex with a helical vortex to use a combined vortex model of the helical self-similarly for a comparison with the experimental data. The experimental study of the shape of both vortices was carried out to describe the downstream development of the expanding vortex core by the new combined vortex model based on the experimental observations triggered by previous studies of wakes behind vortex generators and rotors. It was established that the local helical symmetry with a simple correspondence between the axial and azimuthal velocity in the cores exists in all cross-sections along of both longitudinal and helical vortices. It is also found that the averaged vorticity profiles inside the core of both vortices are self-similar. This knowledge is important for the fundamental understanding of the vortex flows, as well as for the aspect of applications, for which parametric descriptions can be substantially reduced in terms of required time and cost by easing engineering models.

UNAFLOW (UNsteady Aerodynamics for Floating Wind) is a joint EU-IRPWIND founded experiment on wind turbine rotor unsteady aerodynamics. It brings together four different academic contributors: Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), DTU Wind Energy, University of Stuttgart (USTUTT) and Politecnico di Milano (PoliMi) sharing knowledge both in numerical modelling and in experimental tests design, allowing direct numerical and experimental comparison. The experimental tests carried out for UNAFLOW are of the same type of the ones carried out during the ongoing EU H2020 project LIFES50+ [1], regarding both the unsteady behaviour of the 2d blade section and the entire turbine rotor, although with improved setup and wider test matrix. The project partners are already currently jointly collaborating in the AVATAR project [2], developing and validating numerical models of different accuracy level. The numerical models used in the UNALFOW project range from engineering tool (eg. BEM) to high fidelity CFD methods. Numerical simulations are used both in the design of experiment phase and in the results analysis allowing for an in depth understanding of the experimental findings through advanced modelling approach. The UNAFLOW project, together with a new understanding of the unsteady behaviour of the turbine rotor aerodynamics, will provide also an open database to be shared among the scientific community for future analysis and new models validation.

Previous attempts to describe the structure of wind turbine wakes and their mutual interaction were mostly limited to large-eddy and Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes simulations using finite volume solvers. We employ the higher-order spectral-element code Nek5000 to study the influence of numerical aspects on the prediction of the wind turbine wake structure and the wake interaction between two turbines. The spectral-element method enables an accurate representation of the vortical structures, with lower numerical dissipation than the more commonly used finite-volume codes. The wind-turbine blades are modeled as body forces using the actuator-line method (ACL) in the incompressible Navier Stokes equations. Both tower and nacelle are represented with appropriate body forces. An inflow boundary condition is used which emulates homogeneous isotropic turbulence of wind-tunnel flows. We validate the implementation with results from experimental campaigns undertaken at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU Blind Tests), investigate parametric influences and compare computational aspects with existing numerical simulations. In general the results show good agreement between the experiments and the numerical simulations both for a single turbine setup as well as a two-turbine setup where the turbines are offset in the spanwise direction. A shift in the wake center caused by the tower wake is detected similar to experiments. The additional velocity deficit caused by the tower agrees well with the experimental data. The wake is captured well by Nek5000 in comparison with experiments both for the single wind turbine and in the two-turbine setup. The blade loading however shows large discrepancies for the high-turbulence, two-turbine case. While the experiments predicted higher thrust for the downstream turbine than for the upstream turbine, the opposite case was observed in Nek5000.

Actuator line and disc techniques are employed to analyse the wake obtained in the New MEXICO wind turbine experiment. The New MEXICO measurement campaign done in 2014 is a follow-up to the MEXICO campaign, which was completed in 2006. Three flow configurations in axial flow condition are simulated and both computed loads and velocity fields around the rotor are compared with detailed PIV measurements. The comparisons show that the computed loadings are generally in agreement with the measurements under the rotor's design condition. Both actuator approaches under-predicted the loading in the inboard part of blade in stall condition as only 2D airfoil data were used in the simulations. The predicted wake velocities generally agree well with the PIV measurements. In the experiment, PIV measurements are also provided close to the hub and nacelle. To study the effect of hub and nacelle, numerical simulations are performed both in the presence and absence of the hub geometry. This study shows that the large hub used in the experiment has only small effects on overall wake behaviour.

Results from Large-Eddy Simulations using the actuator line technique have been validated against experimental results. The experimental rotor wake, which forms the basis for the comparison, was studied in a recirculating free-surface water channel, where a helical vortex was generated by a single-bladed rotor mounted on a shaft. An investigation of how the experimental blade geometry and aerofoil characteristics affect the results was performed. Based on this, an adjustment of the pitch setting was introduced, which is still well within the limits of the experimental uncertainty. Excellent agreement between the experimental and the numerical results was achieved concerning the circulation, wake expansion and pitch of the helical tip vortex. A disagreement was found regarding the root vortex position and the axial velocity along the centre line of the tip vortex. This work establishes a good base for further studies of more fundamental stability parameters of helical rotor wakes., QC 20150817

Large Eddy Simulations are inherently dynamic as the largest scales are resolved and the smallest scales are modeled temporally. This raises challenges for simulations including very large scales such as atmospheric flows, which require very long simulation times. Simple averages fail at capturing these dynamics and potentially yield misleading interpretations concerning the capabilities of different models when tested in blind tests or in benchmarking exercises such as Wakebench, where results from different flow models are compared. This article will present results from very large wind farm simulations using Actuator Disc (AD) and Line (AL) models for two different turbine spacings with turbulent inflow. The results of each numerical flow model include a certain variability, and it will be examined if different models result in comparable probability distributions.

BACKGROUND: The number of studies on electronic self-monitoring in affective disorder and other psychiatric disorders is increasing and indicates high patient acceptance and adherence. Nevertheless, the effect of electronic self-monitoring in patients with bipolar disorder has never been investigated in a randomized controlled trial (RCT). The objective of this trial was to investigate in a RCT whether the use of daily electronic self-monitoring using smartphones reduces depressive and manic symptoms in patients with bipolar disorder.METHOD: A total of 78 patients with bipolar disorder according to ICD-10 criteria, aged 18-60 years, and with 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17) and Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) scores ≤17 were randomized to the use of a smartphone for daily self-monitoring including a clinical feedback loop (the intervention group) or to the use of a smartphone for normal communicative purposes (the control group) for 6 months. The primary outcomes were differences in depressive and manic symptoms measured using HAMD-17 and YMRS, respectively, between the intervention and control groups.RESULTS: Intention-to-treat analyses using linear mixed models showed no significant effects of daily self-monitoring using smartphones on depressive as well as manic symptoms. There was a tendency towards more sustained depressive symptoms in the intervention group (B = 2.02, 95% confidence interval -0.13 to 4.17, p = 0.066). Sub-group analysis among patients without mixed symptoms and patients with presence of depressive and manic symptoms showed significantly more depressive symptoms and fewer manic symptoms during the trial period in the intervention group.CONCLUSIONS: These results highlight that electronic self-monitoring, although intuitive and appealing, needs critical consideration and further clarification before it is implemented as a clinical tool.

Two modal decomposition techniques are employed to analyse the stability of wind turbine wakes. A numerical study on a single wind turbine wake is carried out focusing on the instability onset of the trailing tip vortices shed from the turbine blades. The numerical model is based on large-eddy simulations (LES) of the Navier-Stokes equations using the actuator line (ACL) method to simulate the wake behind the Tj ae reborg wind turbine. The wake is perturbed by low-amplitude excitation sources located in the neighbourhood of the tip spirals. The amplification of the waves travelling along the spiral triggers instabilities, leading to breakdown of the wake. Based on the grid configurations and the type of excitations, two basic flow cases, symmetric and asymmetric, are identified. In the symmetric setup, we impose a 120 degrees symmetry condition in the dynamics of the flow and in the asymmetric setup we calculate the full 360 degrees wake. Different cases are subsequently analysed using dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) and proper orthogonal decomposition (POD). The results reveal that the main instability mechanism is dispersive and that the modal growth in the symmetric setup arises only for some specific frequencies and spatial structures, e.g. two dominant groups of modes with positive growth (spatial structures) are identified, while breaking the symmetry reveals that almost all the modes have positive growth rate. In both setups, the most unstable modes have a non-dimensional spatial growth rate close to pi/2 and they are characterized by an out-of-phase displacement of successive helix turns leading to local vortex pairing. The present results indicate that the asymmetric case is crucial to study, as the stability characteristics of the flow change significantly compared to the symmetric configurations. Based on the constant non-dimensional growth rate of disturbances, we derive a new analytical relationship between the length of the wake up to the turbulent br, QC 20140930. Updated from manuscript to article in journal.

The wake recovery behind the Horns Rev wind farm is analysed to investigate the applicability of Large Eddy Simulations (LES) in combination with an actuator disc method (ACD) for farm to farm interaction studies. Periodic boundary conditions on the lateral boundaries are used to model the wind farm (as infinitely wide), using only two columns of turbines. The meteorological conditions of the site are taken into account by introducing wind shear and pre-generated synthetic turbulence to the simulation domain using body forces. Simulations are carried out to study the power production and the velocity deficit in the farm wake. The results are compared to the actual power production as well as to wind measurements at 2 km and 6 km behind the wind farm. The simulated power production inside the farm shows an overall good correlation with the real production, but is slightly overpredicted in the most downstream rows. The simulations overpredict the wake recovery, namely the wind velocity, at long distances behind the farm. Further studies are needed before the presented method can be applied for the simulation of long distance wakes. Suggested parameters to be studied are the development of the turbulence downstream in the domain and the impact of the grid resolution., QC 20150529

This paper presents wind tunnel measurements of the NREL S826 airfoil at Reynolds number Re 100,000 for angles of attack in a range of -10° to 25° the corresponding Large Eddy Simulation (LES) for selected angles of attack. The measurements have been performed at the low speed wind tunnel located at Fluid Mechanics laboratory of the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). Lift coefficient is obtained from the forge gauge measurements while the drag is measured according to the integration of the wake profiles downstream of the airfoil. The pressure distribution is measured by a set of pressure taps on the airfoil surface. The lift and drag polars are obtained from the LES computations using DTU's inhouse CFD solver, EllipSys3D, and good agreement is found between the measurement and the simulations. At high angles of attack, the numerical computations tend to over-predict the lift coefficients, however, there is a better agreement between the drag measurements and computations. It is concluded that LES computations are able to capture the lift and drag polars as well as the pressure distribution around the airfoil with an acceptable accuracy., QC 20150605