This thesis presents the results of wind tunnel experiments performed for various model wind turbine arrays. The aim is to understand how siting affects power output. To optimize wind farm efficiency the experiments vary the parameters of the model wind turbines and the layout of the wind turbine array. The parameters include the alignment, height, spacing, and the rotational direction of the model wind turbines. These experiments employ mechanical torque sensors to simultaneously measure the torque and rotor angular velocity, which yields a direct measurement of the fluid mechanical power extracted by the turbine at multiple locations. For a 4 × 3 array, the power is calculated at the center turbine in each of the rows. Variations in wind farm efficiency ranging from 55% to 90% are observed between the 13 different layouts tested. Modifications to the layout of the wind turbine array clearly affects the power output of the wind turbines downstream. The results of such experiments highlight the importance of studying the relationship between wind farm layout and power output.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:pdx.edu/oai:pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu:open_access_etds-2119 |
| Date | 28 August 2013 |
| Creators | DeLucia, Dominic |
| Publisher | PDXScholar |
| Source Sets | Portland State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Dissertations and Theses |
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