Enhancing Wind Farm Wake Recovery Through Kite-Induced Vertical Entrainment
Development and Application of K-TWIST
T.C.J. van Niekerk (TU Delft - Aerospace Engineering)
W.A.A.M. Bierbooms – Mentor (TU Delft - Wind Energy)
D.A.M. De Tavernier – Mentor (TU Delft - Wind Energy)
R. Schmehl – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Wind Energy)
Rene Pecnik – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Energy Technology)
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Abstract
Aerodynamic wake effects are a major source of energy loss and structural fatigue in wind farms. The deployment of kite systems above the wind farm offers a novel approach to enhance wake recovery by entraining high-momentum flow. This thesis introduces the Kite-Turbine Wake Interaction Simulation Tool (K-TWIST), a mid-fidelity tool that combines a lifting-line free wake vortex method with a viscous splitting technique. The solver captures unsteady aerodynamic interaction of the coupled kite-turbine system, while maintaining computational efficiency through parallel processing. Verification and validation confirm its ability to reproduce key flow phenomena, such as vortex roll-up, downwash and wake contraction. A case study on a 2 MW turbine demonstrates that kite deployment enhances vertical mixing and accelerates wake recovery. These results highlight the potential of kites to actively re-energize turbine wakes and provide a foundation for future optimization studies.