The flow upstream of a row of aligned wind turbine rotors and its effect on power production

A row of wind turbine rotors with a mutual spacing of three diameters is simulated using both Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations and a simple inviscid vortex model. The angle between the incoming wind and the line connecting the turbines is varied between 45 and 90 degrees. The simulations show that the power production of the turbines deviate significantly compared with a corresponding isolated turbine even though there is no direct wake-turbine interaction at the considered wind directions. Nevertheless, both models indicate marked alterations in the upstream flow, which directly link to the turbines' power adjustments. Thus, turbines which are placed laterally relative to the prevailing wind (as seen at various test sites) have, at least numerically, a mutual effect on each other. Therefore, they might not necessarily produce the same power as a stand-alone turbine. Copyright (C) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.