This thesis presents a study on the applicability of common roughness parameterization guidelines in determining values of the surface roughness length (z0). These guidelines are often used for vertical extrapolation of wind speeds in the renewable energy industry. The specific goal of this thesis is to determine whether these guidelines (most notably the Davenport roughness classification system) can provide a quality estimate of the roughness length for wind resource assessment purposes. To test this hypothesis, empirical relationships between calculated values of z0 derived from logarithmic profile fitting and those estimated from subjective terrain analyses guidelines are compared at two prospective wind farm locations in Southern Ontario. The results suggest that the use of roughness parameterization guidelines for extrapolating wind speeds can cause serious underestimation of the local wind resources, especially at locations where local topographic challenges exist. Their use in energy assessments should be avoided if possible through on-site measurements of the wind profile.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/2960 |
| Date | 24 August 2010 |
| Creators | Laporte, David J. |
| Contributors | Tuller, Stanton E. |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | Available to the World Wide Web |
Page generated in 0.0024 seconds