Dynamic flow control strategies are raising interest for wake mitigation purposes. Among the different strategies, the so-called helix one relies on individual pitch control (IPC). The numerical simulation of the helix is thus readily performed by means of discrete-blade capturing methods. Yet, if this control strategy is considered at the scale of wind farms, the resolution required by such methods becomes prohibitive and actuator disk (AD) models should be envisioned. It is however not trivial to translate IPC strategies to an AD framework which by definition considers rotor-averaged effects. This work assesses the ability of an AD method to simulate the helix strategy by comparing it to a higher fidelity approach relying on a discrete-blade capturing model. Results show that the disk-type approach supplemented with a disk-adapted IPC scheme is able to capture both the forced motion of the wake at low turbulence and the faster wake recovery at moderate turbulence. From a quantitative perspective, the disk-type approach predicts bigger power gains, compared to those foreseen by the discrete-blade type approach, for a downstream turbine in the wake of a helix-operated one. ... Read more

Accurate simulation of wind turbine wakes is critical for the optimization of turbine efficiency and prediction of fatigue loads. These wakes are three-dimensional, complex, unsteady and can evolve in geometrically complex environments. Modeling these flows calls thus for high-quality numerical methods that are able to capture and transport thin vortical structures on an unstructured grid. It is proposed here to assess the performances of a fourth-order finite-volume LES solver to perform massively parallel scale-resolving simulations of wind turbines wakes. In this framework, the actuator line method that takes the effect of the wind turbine blades on the flow into account is implemented. It is demonstrated that both near and far parts of the turbine wakes are accurately modeled as well as geometrical details. The methodology is assessed on two different test cases and validated with experimental results. It is demonstrated that the flow predictions are of equivalent quality on both structured and unstructured grids. The influence of the geometrical details (e.g. nacelle and tower) on the wake development as well as the influence of the discretization scheme are also investigated. ... Read more

An horizontal axis wind turbine placed in a free stream develops a wake behind its rotor. Inside this wake, complex vortical instabilities are developing and can lead to turbulent structures generation1 . In order to predict performances and loads of wind turbines in wind farms, it is essential to accurately characterize these wakes and their impact on the downstream turbines. Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) is well adapted to this problem as the considered flow is 3D, complex and strongly unsteady. The state-of-the-art approach for taking into account the effect of the turbine on the flow is the Actuator Line (AL) method2,3. This method enables the use of Cartesian grids, which brings numerous advantages but prevents space adaptivity and limits the shape of the flow domain ... Read more