4/5/2016 Introduction to quiz: Wind profiles and wind resources | Coursera

Introduction to quiz: Wind pro㌰les and wind resources

This document contains all the information you need to solve the quiz called 'Wind pro㌰les and wind resources'.
Please calculate your answers to the questions at the bottom of this page. You will then be prepared to start the
quiz.

We recommend using a calculation tool such as a spread sheet or a computer programming tool to solve the
exercise.

You can download this document in PDF format:

Introduction to quiz_ Wind pro㌰les and wind resources _ Coursera.pdf…

Learning Objectives

When you have completed this exercise, you will be able to:

Analyze real meteorological time series measurements

Estimate the surface roughness

Explain the behavior of wind speed as a function of height up to the turbine hub-height

Description

In this exercise, you will use wind observations from a meteorological mast at Høvsøre, Denmark. This mast is
marked with a cross on the map below.

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You will use the logarithmic wind pro㌰le in two versions:

1. For atmospheric neutral conditions it reads

u∗ z
u(z) = ln( ) (1)
k z0

where u is the wind speed at height z , z 0 is the roughness length, u∗ is the friction velocity and κis the on Kármán
constant; here taken to be 0.4 .

2. With the stability correction included it reads:

u∗ z
u(z) = (ln( ) − ψ) (2)
k z0

where ψ accounts for the e㏤ect of atmospheric stability.

The aerodynamic roughness length, z 0 , can be estimated from the equations above if the wind speed at two levels
is known. Alternatively, z 0 can be obtained from a look-up table:

Data

A data ㌰le provides 10 -minute averaged wind speeds as a function of height (10, 40, 60, 80, 100, 116, 160m) as
well as instantaneous wind directions measured at three heights (10, 60 and 100m ). The data series covers 18
hours starting from 00 : 00 at night.

Windpro㌰leMOOC.pdf (https://d3c33hcgiwev3.cloudfront.net/_560220…

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The same data is available in .txt format:

Windpro㌰leMOOC.txt (https://d3c33hcgiwev3.cloudfront.net/_8bdc21…

The same data is available in Excel format:

Windpro㌰leMOOC.xls (https://d3c33hcgiwev3.cloudfront.net/_a5fb1a4…

Questions

Please use the information given above to answer the following questions. Write down your answers as you go.
You will need them for answering the quiz.

1. From the table look up, estimate the roughness length that is relevant for the wind pro㌰le at the mast location.
Hint: Use Fig. 1 to guide you.

2. The friction velocity is a measure of the momentum transport from the free atmosphere to the boundary layer.
Assuming that the stability e㏤ect is small at 10m, use the table value of z 0 to derive the variation of the friction
velocity u∗ over the 18 hours in the data ㌰le by means of Eq. (1) . Make a plot of u∗ as a function of time (use
Excel, Matlab, or another computer program).

3. The logarithmic wind pro㌰le with the stability correction is given in Eq. (2) . Use the time varying u∗ that you
just derived and a constant value of z 0 to derive the diurnal variation of the stability correction parameter ψ .
Use the wind speed measurements at 60m and make a plot of ψ as a function of time.

4. Use the measured wind speed at 10 and 40m to derive the roughness length z 0 from the logarithmic wind
pro㌰le without accounting for the stability correction, Eq. (1) . The roughness length characterizes the upwind
landscape and is thus constant. Hint: Write the logarithmic wind pro㌰le expression for the wind speed at both
and 40m and express ln( zz as ln(z) − ln(z 0 ); then eliminate ( , and solve for the roughness length.
u∗
10 ) )
0 κ

Calculate it for every instance in the time series and plot z 0 as a function of time.

5. Make plots of the wind direction at 10m and 100m as a function of time and ㌰nd the di㏤erence.

6. Assume that the energy production of a wind turbine is proportional to the cube of the wind speed. Consider
you have a 10m tall wind turbine and calculate the wind speed cubed for that height. Plot the values as a
function of time.

7. Now consider you have a 160m tall wind turbine and repeat the tasks given in question number 6.

8. When do you ㌰nd the largest relative di㏤erence in production between a 10m and a 160m wind turbine?

Summary

The main learning points of this exercise were:

Estimating the surface roughness length from wind pro㌰le measurements can be problematic.

The roughness length is very important for wind energy applications.

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