Modeling Wind Turbine Wakes for Wind Farms

The simulation of the wakes behind wind turbines is important in predicting energy yields in wind farms, and so plays a role in planning the layout of these farms. As both wind turbines and farms increase in size, wind farm modellers have faced challenges as previously-held assumptions and parameterisations become inadequate – requiring more detailed, less parameterised methods such as those available through computational fluid dynamics. In this article the authors chart the progress of wind turbine wake modelling from analytical methods towards computational fluid dynamics, discussing approaches such as Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes and Large Eddy Simulation.