Atmospheric turbulence

Important concepts used in wind energy

Ameya Sathe

Learning objectives

After this lecture you will be able to:

Explain some statistical concepts used to quantify

turbulence
Use frequently used keywords
Explain some key aspects related to data analysis

Why is turbulence relevant for Wind Energy?

How to study turbulence?

Navier-Stokes Equation
Statistical concepts
Separating the average and fluctuating
component:

Spectra
Distribution of energy with respect to
the frequency

Important keywords
wind vector components

Important keywords
Turbulence Intensity

Important keywords
turbulence scales

Important keywords
turbulence scales

Every wavelength can

be thought as a length
scale
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Important keywords
integral length scale

Important keywords
turbulence spectra

Data analysis Things to remember

Averaging Periods
10-min period routinely used in wind energy
30-min period is recommended for turbulence studies
What are considerations?
Mainly depends on the Integral Time Scale
Larger the Integral Time Scale, larger should be averaging period
Sampling frequencies
What are the considerations?
Also depends on the Integral Time Scale
Normally should be much smaller than the Integral Time Scale

Data analysis things to remember

Removal of spikes

Data analysis things to remember

Detrending the time series

Summary

In this lecture you have learned about:

Some statistical concepts used in understanding
turbulence
Some keywords used in wind energy
Some key concepts related to data analysis
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