Wind turbine wakes are an interesting topic of study, because the momentum deficit and the increased level of turbulence created by turbines in a wind farm may cause a reduction in power output and an increase in unsteady and fatigue loads on downstream located machines. Besides, a good knowledge of the aerodynamics in the near wake is essential to understand the physics of power extraction by wind turbines. The topics to be addressed will include:
Numerical models of wind turbine wakes - single wakes as well as multiple wakes in wind farms. Turbulence closure models. Actuator disk and actuator line models. Experimental work, based on both wind tunnel experiments and full scale field experiments. Flow visualization. Tip vortex properties. Characteristics of the added turbulence created in the wake. Influence of atmospheric stability. Influence of topography. Wake meandering. Fatigue and loads. Offshore wind farms. Strategies for control based on wind turbine wakes.