In this letter, we study the scaling properties of multi-year observed and atmospheric model-generated wind time series. We have found that the extended self-similarity holds for the observed series, and remarkably, the scaling exponents corresponding to the meoscale range closely match the well-accepted inertial-range turbulence values. However, the scaling results from the simulated time series are significantly different.
We have analyzed long-term wind speed time-series from five field sites up to a height of 300 m from the ground. Structure function-based scaling analysis has revealed that the scaling exponents in the mesoscale regime systematically depend on height. This anomalous behavior is likely caused by the buoyancy effects. In the framework of the extended self-similarity, the relative scaling exponents portray quasi-universal behavior.
Measurements of atmospheric winds in the mesoscale range (10-500 km) reveal remarkably universal spectra with the $k^{-5/3}$ power law. Despite initial expectations of the inverse energy cascade, as in two-dimensional (2D) turbulence, measurements of the third velocity moment in atmosphere, suggested a direct energy cascade. Here we propose a possible solution to this controversy by accounting for the presence of a large-scale coherent flow, or a spectral condensate. We present new experimental laboratory data and show that the presence of a large-scale shear flow modifies the third-order velo…
Within OpenFOAM, we develop a pressure-based solver for the Euler equations written in conservative form using density, momentum, and total energy as variables. Under simplifying assumptions, these equations are used to describe non-hydrostatic atmospheric flow. For the stabilization of the Euler equations and to capture sub-grid processes, we consider two Large Eddy Simulation models: the classical Smagorinsky model and the one equation eddy-viscosity model. To achieve high computational efficiency, our solver uses a splitting scheme that decouples the computation of each variable. The numeri…
This article investigates penetrative turbulence in the atmospheric boundary layer. Using a large eddy simulation approach, we study characteristics of the mixed layer with respect to surface heat flux variations in the range from 231.48 W/m$^2$ to 925.92 W/m$^2$, and observe that the surface heterogeneity on a spatial scale of $20$ km leads to downscale turbulent kinetic energy cascade. Coherent fluctuations of mesoscale horizontal wind is observed at 100m above the ground. Such a surface induced temporal oscillations in the horizontal wind suggest a rapid jump in mesocale wind forecasts, whi…
A comparative computational study of different formulations of the compressible Euler equations for mesoscale atmospheric flows in a finite volume framework
Based on an eddy-permitting ocean circulation model, the eddy kinetic energy (EKE) sources are studied in the Sea of Okhotsk. An analysis of the spatial distribution of the EKE showed that intense mesoscale variability occurs along the western boundary of the Sea of Okhotsk, where the East-Sakhalin Current extends. It was found a pronounced seasonally varying EKE with its maximal magnitudes in winter, and its minimal magnitudes in summer. An analysis of the EKE sources and the energy conversions showed that time-varying (turbulent) wind stress is a main contribution to mesoscale variability al…
Inertia-gravity waves (IGWs) play an essential role in the terrestrial atmospheric dynamics as they can lead to energy and momentum flux when propagating upwards. An open question is to which extent IGWs contribute to the total energy and to flattening of the energy spectrum observed at the mesoscale. In this work, we present an experimental investigation of the energy distribution between the large-scale balanced flow and the small-scale imbalanced flow. Weakly nonlinear IGWs emitted from baroclinic jets are observed in the differentially heated rotating annulus experiment. Similar to the atm…
Site-specific flow and turbulence information are needed for various practical applications, ranging from aerodynamic/aeroelastic modeling for wind turbine design to optical diffraction calculations. Even though highly desirable, collecting on-site meteorological measurements can be an expensive, time-consuming, and sometimes a challenging task. In this work, we propose a coupled mesoscale-large-eddy modeling framework to synthetically generate site-specific flow and turbulence data. The workhorses behind our framework are a state-of-the-art, open-source atmospheric model called the Weather Re…
Regimes of interactions between motions on different time-scales are investigated in the FLOSSII dataset for nocturnal near-surface stable boundary layer (SBL) turbulence. The non-stationary response of turbulent vertical velocity variance to non-turbulent, sub-mesoscale wind velocity variability is analysed using the bounded variation, finite element, vector autoregressive factor models (FEM-BV-VARX) clustering method. Several locally stationary flow regimes are identified with different influences of sub-meso wind velocity on the turbulent vertical velocity variance. In each flow regime, we …
Wind-blown sand, or 'saltation,' creates sand dunes, erodes geological features, and could be a significant source of dust aerosols on Mars. Moreover, the electrification of sand and dust in saltation, dust storms, and dust devils could produce electric discharges and affect atmospheric chemistry. We present the first calculations of electric fields in martian saltation, using a numerical model of saltation that includes sand electrification, plasma physics, and the adsorption of ions and electrons onto particulates. Our results indicate that electric discharges do not occur in martian saltati…
We study the statistics of the horizontal component of atmospheric boundary layer wind speed. Motivated by its non-stationarity, we investigate which parameters remain constant or can be regarded as being piece-wise constant and explain how to estimate them. We will verify the picture of natural atmospheric boundary layer turbulence to be composed of successively occurring close to ideal turbulence with different parameters. The first focus is put on the fluctuation of wind speed around its mean behaviour. We describe a method estimating the proportionality factor between the standard deviatio…
Atmospheric turbulent velocity fluctuations are known to increase wind turbine structural loading and accelerate wake recovery, but the impact of vortical coherent structures in the atmosphere on wind turbines has not yet been evaluated. The current study uses flow imaging with natural snowfall with a field of view spanning the inflow and near wake. Vortical coherent structures with diameters on the order of 1 m are identified and characterized in the flow approaching a 2.5 MW wind turbine in the region spanning the bottom blade tip elevation to hub height. Their impact on turbine structural l…
Conventionally neutral atmospheric boundary layers (CNBLs), which are characterized with zero surface potential temperature flux and capped by an inversion of potential temperature, are frequently encountered in nature. Therefore, predicting the wind speed profiles of CNBLs is relevant for weather forecasting, climate modeling, and wind energy applications. However, previous attempts to predict the velocity profiles in CNBLs have had limited success due to the complicated interplay between buoyancy, shear, and Coriolis effects. Here, we utilize ideas from the classical Monin-Obukhov similarity…
Wind turbines operate in the atmospheric boundary layer, where they are exposed to the turbulent atmospheric flows. As the response time of wind turbine is typically in the range of seconds, they are affected by the small scale intermittent properties of the turbulent wind. Consequently, basic features which are known for small-scale homogeneous isotropic turbulence, and in particular the well-known intermittency problem, have an important impact on the wind energy conversion process. We report on basic research results concerning the small-scale intermittent properties of atmospheric flows an…
Accurate models of turbulent wind fields have become increasingly important in the atmospheric sciences, e.g., for the determination of spatiotemporal correlations in wind parks, the estimation of individual loads on turbine rotor and blades, or for the modeling of particle-turbulence interaction in atmospheric clouds or pollutant distributions in urban settings. Due to the prohibitive task of resolving the fields across a broad range of scales, one oftentimes has to resort to stochastic wind field models that fulfill specific, empirically observed, properties. Here, we present a new model for…
Starting from basic physical principles, we present a novel derivation linking the global wind power to measurable atmospheric parameters. The resulting expression distinguishes three components of the atmospheric power (the kinetic power associated with horizontal and vertical motion and the gravitational power of precipitation) and highlights problems with previous approaches. Focusing on Laliberté et al. (2015), we show how inappropriate treatment of material derivatives in the presence of phase transitions leads to significant errors in wind power analyses. We discuss the physical constrai…
The intentional yaw misalignment of leading, upwind turbines in a wind farm, termed wake steering, has demonstrated potential as a collective control approach for wind farm power maximization. The optimal control strategy, and resulting effect of wake steering on wind farm power production, are in part dictated by the power degradation of the upwind yaw misaligned wind turbines. In the atmospheric boundary layer, the wind speed and direction may vary significantly over the wind turbine rotor area, depending on atmospheric conditions and stability, resulting in freestream turbine power producti…
We generate explicit height-dependent eddy viscosity coefficients in the Ekman layer from convex wind speed profiles. The solutions we obtain are parameterized in terms of the relative deflection angle between the wind directions at the top and bottom of the flow, as well as the geostrophic wind speed and a velocity scale we interpret as the transfer rate of horizontal momentum in the vertical direction. The solutions may be used to infer the thickness of the Ekman layer for a variety of deflection angles different from deflection angle of the classic Ekman spiral.
The atmospheric incoming flow of a wind turbine is intimately connected to its power production as well as its structural stability. Here we present an incoming flow measurement of a utility-scale turbine at the high spatio-temporal resolution, using super-large-scale particle image velocimetry (SLPIV) with natural snowflakes. The datasets include over a one-hour duration of incoming flow with a field of view of 85 m (vertical) x 40 m (streamwise) centered at 0.2 rotor diameter upstream of the turbine. The mean flow shows the presence of the induction zone and a distinct region with enhanced v…
The fluid dynamics video considers an array of two NREL 5-MW turbines separated by seven rotor diameters in a neutral atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). The neutral atmospheric boundary-layer flow data were obtained from a precursor ABL simulation using a Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) framework within OpenFOAM. The mean wind speed at hub height is 8m/s, and the surface roughness is 0.2m. The actuator line method (ALM) is used to model the wind turbine blades by means of body forces added to the momentum equation. The fluid dynamics video shows the root and tip vortices emanating from the blades f…
While a theoretical limit has long been established for the performance of a single turbine, no corresponding upper bound exists for the power output from a large wind farm, making it difficult to evaluate the available potential for further performance gains. Here we build a model describing the essential features of a large array of turbines with arbitrary design and layout, by considering a fully-developed wind farm whose upper edge is bounded by a self-similar boundary layer. The exchanges between the wind farm, the overlaying boundary layer, and the outer flow are parameterized by means o…
An extended analytical wake model and applications to yawed wind turbines in atmospheric boundary layers with different levels of stratification and veer
Low-level jets (LLJs) are the wind maxima in the lower regions of the atmosphere with a high wind energy potential. Here we use large-eddy simulations to study the effect of LLJ height on the flow dynamics in a wind farm with $10\times4$ turbines. We change the LLJ height and atmospheric thermal stratification by varying the surface cooling rate. We find that the first row power production is higher in the presence of a LLJ compared to a neutral reference case without LLJ. Besides, we show that the first row power production increases with decreasing LLJ height. Due to the higher turbulence in…
A quantitative understanding of the dominant mechanisms that govern the generation and decay of the counter-rotating vortex pair (CVP) produced by yawed wind turbines is needed to fully realize the potential of yawing for wind farm power maximization and regulation. Observations from large eddy simulations (LES) of yawed wind turbines in the turbulent atmospheric boundary layer and concepts from the airplane trailing vortex literature inform a model for the shed vorticity and circulation. The model is formed through analytical integration of simplified forms of the vorticity transport equation…
Wake redirection is a promising approach designed to mitigate turbine-wake interactions which have a negative impact on the performance and lifetime of wind farms. It has recently been found that substantial power gains can be obtained by tilting the rotors of spanwise-periodic wind-turbine arrays. Rotor tilt is associated to the generation of coherent streamwise vortices which deflect wakes towards the ground and, by exploiting the vertical wind shear, replace them with higher-momentum fluid (high-speed streaks). The objective of this work is to evaluate power gains that can be obtained by ti…
In trajectory planning and control design for unmanned air vehicles, highly simplified models are typically used to represent the vehicle dynamics and the operating environment. The goal of this work is to perform real-time, but realistic flight simulations and trajectory planning for quad-copters in low altitude (<500m) atmospheric conditions. The aerodynamic model for rotor performance is adapted from blade element momentum theory and validated against experimental data. Large-eddy simulations of the atmospheric boundary layer are used to accurately represent the operating environment of unm…
Because of their intense incident stellar irradiation and likely tidally locked spin states, hot Jupiters are expected to have wind speeds that approach or exceed the speed of sound. In this work we develop a theory to explain the magnitude of these winds. We model hot Jupiters as planetary heat engines and show that hot Jupiters are always less efficient than an ideal Carnot engine. Next, we demonstrate that our predicted wind speeds match those from three-dimensional numerical simulations over a broad range of parameters. Finally, we use our theory to evaluate how well different drag mechani…
We present an analysis of a time series of a wind strength measurements recorded at Florence airport in the period October 2002 - March 2003. The data were taken simultaneously by two runway head anemometers, located at a distance of 900 m, at a frequency of 3.3 10-3 Hz. The data show strong correlations over long time spans over a few tens of hours. We performed an analysis of wind velocity as it is usually done for turbulence laboratory experiments. Wind velocity returns and wind velocity differences were considered. The pdfs of these quantities exhibit strong non-Gaussian fat tails. The dis…
We successfully apply the recent developed superstatistics theory to a temporal series of turbulent wind measurements recorded by the anemometers of Florence airport. Within this approach we can reproduce very well the fluctuations and the pdfs of wind velocity returns and differences.
Ocean eddies play an important role in the transport and mixing processes of the ocean due to their ability to transport material, heat, salt, and other tracers across large distances. They exhibit at least two timescales; an Eulerian lifetime associated with persistent identifiable signatures in gridded fields such as vorticity or sea-surface height, and multiple Lagrangian or material coherence timescales that are typically much shorter. We propose a method to study the multi-timescale material transport, leakage, and entrainment by eddies with their surroundings by constructing sequences of…
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory（劳伦斯利弗莫尔国家实验室）；Technical University of Munich（慕尼黑工业大学）
We develop a novel data-driven approach to modeling the atmospheric boundary layer. This approach leads to a nonlocal, anisotropic synthetic turbulence model which we refer to as the deep rapid distortion (DRD) model. Our approach relies on an operator regression problem which characterizes the best fitting candidate in a general family of nonlocal covariance kernels parameterized in part by a neural network. This family of covariance kernels is expressed in Fourier space and is obtained from approximate solutions to the Navier--Stokes equations at very high Reynolds numbers. Each member of th…
