Scientists from Cranfield University and the University of Oxford present a theoretical model for estimating the aerodynamic effects of wind turbine towers on the performance of wind farms. Using what is called a two-scale coupled momentum balance method, the group was able to theoretically and computationally reconstruct conditions that large wind farms might face in the future, including the dampening effect that comes with spacing turbines close to one another.
A key feature of the paper, said author Lun Ma, is that this most recent update to their model looks beyond a wind turbine’s rotor.
