Vertical evolution of wind’s turbulence intensity in complex terrain with obstacles

Main Article Content

Gustavo Richmond-Navarro
q
Luis Enrique Castro-Rodríguez
Juan J. Rojas
Williams R. Calderón-Muñoz

Abstract

The market provides many small-scale wind turbine which are offered as a partial solution to reduce residential electricity bills. However, the reality is that in some cases the performance offered surpass the performance obtained, this is due to low wind speeds in residential areas and the effect of turbulence on the wind turbines. The objective of this work is to determine the local influence of obstacles on the turbulence and to describe the development of turbulence as a function of height, by comparing two meteorological towers: one placed between trees and the other placed in an area without nearby obstacles. In this way, it is intended to determine if within a specific landscape there can be found places with less turbulence due to a local reduction of the obstacles. The measurements obtained between October 2018 and September 2019 from the meteorological towers are then processed to obtain histograms to compare the evolution of turbulence intensity as a function of height. It is found that the turbulence depends on the height in the tower that is immersed between trees; it is smaller as the height increases. In addition, in the case of the tower without obstacles in its close environment, the turbulence is independent of the height. A turbulence intensity value close to 30% is reported as the most frequent among the data obtained by the ten anemometers used in the study.

Article Details

How to Cite
Richmond-Navarro, G., q, Castro-Rodríguez, L. E., Rojas, J. J., & Calderón-Muñoz, W. R. (2022). Vertical evolution of wind’s turbulence intensity in complex terrain with obstacles. Tecnología En Marcha Journal, 35(7), Pág. 46–57. https://doi.org/10.18845/tm.v35i7.6332
Section
Artículo científico

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