Wind tunnel investigations of an individual pitch control strategy for wind farm power optimization

This article presents the results of an experimental wind tunnel study which investigates a new control strategy named Helix. The Helix control employs individual pitch control for sinusoidally varying yaw and tilt moments to induce an additional rotational component in the wake, aiming to enhance wake mixing. The experiments are conducted in a closed-loop wind tunnel under low-turbulence conditions to emphasize wake effects. Highly sensorized model wind turbines with control capabilities similar to full-scale machines are employed in a two-turbine setup to assess wake recovery potential and explore loads on both upstream and downstream turbines. In a single-turbine study, detailed wake measurements are carried out using a fast-response five-hole pressure probe. The results demonstrate a significant improvement in energy content within the wake, with distinct peaks for clockwise and counterclockwise movements at Strouhal numbers of approximately 0.47. Both upstream and downstream turbine dynamic equivalent loads increase when applying the Helix control. The time-averaged wake flow streamwise velocity and rms value reveal a faster wake recovery for actuated cases in comparison to the baseline. Phase-locked results with azimuthal position display a leapfrogging behavior in the baseline case in contrast to the actuated cases, where distorted shedding structures in the longitudinal direction are observed due to a changed thrust coefficient and an accompanying lateral vortex shedding location. Additionally, phase-locked results with the additional frequency reveal a tip vortex meandering, which enhances faster wake recovery. Comparing the Helix cases with clockwise and counterclockwise rotations, the latter exhibits slightly higher gains and faster wake recovery. This difference is attributed to Helix' additional rotational component acting in either the same or the opposite direction as the wake rotation. Overall, both Helix cases exhibit significantly faster wake recovery compared to the baseline, indicating the potential of this technique for improved wind farm control.