Numerical simulations of the three-dimensional turbulent flow in a wind park

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is a promising tool for the analysis and optimization of the wind turbines positioned inside a wind park. In the present work, the threedimensional, time-averaged, steady-state, incompressible Navier-Stokes equations are solved along with the k-t turbulence model. Wind turbines are represented by momentum sources and a Control-Volume Finite Element Method (CVFEM) is used to solve the flow equations for the velocity components, pressure and turbulence characteristics. The authors' previous works demonstrated the accuracy of this approach for single wind turbine power prediction. The capabilities of the proposed method to predict wind turbine wake characteristics are illustrated in this paper. Results for the MOD-OA wind turbine in neutral atmospheric boundary layers are presented and a simple park composed of two turbines, one behind the other, is studied. Satisfactory agreement with experimental measurements is achieved, and qualitative agreement with observations is obtained for gross wake characteristics.