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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Effects of Freestream Turbulence on Wing-Gust Interactions

There is a growing interest in the experimental study of discrete vertical gusts motivated by the proliferation of small Uncrewed Air Systems. However, gusts are not the only unsteady flow disturbances that these vehicles are expected to encounter. Freestream turbulence is also a serious consideration. Previous work has indicated that freestream turbulence has significant effects on the flow around airfoils, so this work investigates the interaction of these two unsteady flow disturbances. Airfoils are pitched to mimic the flow angle change caused by a gust at different levels of incoming freestream turbulence. The lift generated during the gust encounters with elevated incoming freestream turbulence show that the effects on the performance of the airfoil are dependent on the turbulence intensity. Low turbulence intensity has beneficial effects, delaying stall and increasing the maximum lift, whereas higher freestream turbulence intensity delays stall without a corresponding increase in the maximum lift. A preliminary investigation of 15-trial ensemble-averaged flow fields suggests that freestream turbulence dominates the flow, but the flow features associated with the dynamic lift seen in the "clean" case are still somewhat present. However, lift curves and flow fields from individual trials indicates that the turbulence increases the unsteadiness in the interaction, but the general trends are dominated by the gust interaction. Further work is still needed to better determine the flow physics of these interactions and the interplay between repeatable and stochastic flow phenomena.

Unsteady Aerodynamics↗

NASA NTRS1975

Three dimensional flow field in rocket pump inducers. Part 2: Mean flow and turbulence characteristics inside the rotor passage, and theoretical analysis

The measurement and prediction is reported of three dimensional flow fields in an axial flow inducer operating at a flow coefficient of 0.065 with air as the test medium. The experimental investigations included measurements of the blade static pressure and blade limiting streamline angle, and measurement of the three components of mean velocity, turbulence intensities and turbulence stresses at locations inside the inducer blade passage utilizing a rotating three-sensor hotwire probe. Analytical investigations were conducted to predict the three-dimensional inviscid flow. Total relative velocity distributions indicate a substantial velocity deficiency near the tip at mid-passage. High turbulence intensities and turbulence stresses are concentrated within this core region. Evidence of boundary layer interactions, blade blockage effects, radially inward flows, annulus wall effects and backflows are found to exist within the long, narrow passages of the inducer, emphasizing the complex nature of inducer flow which makes accurate prediction of the flow behavior extremely difficult.

Lakshminarayana, B.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Analytical and experimental study of mean flow and turbulence characteristics inside the passages of an axial flow inducer

The inviscid and viscid effects existing within the passages of a three bladed axial flow inducer operating at a flow coefficient of 0.065 are investigated. The blade static pressure and blade limiting streamline angle distributions were determined and the three components of mean velocity, turbulence intensities, and turbulence stresses were measured at locations inside the inducer blade passage utilizing a rotating three sensor hotwire probe. Applicable equations were derived for the hotwire data reduction analysis and solved numerically to obtain the appropriate flow parameters. The three dimensional inviscid flow in the inducer was predicted by numerically solving the exact equations of motion, and the three dimensional viscid flow was predicted by incorporating the dominant viscous terms into the exact equations. The analytical results are compared with the experimental measurements and design values where appropriate. Radial velocities are found to be of the same order as axial velocities within the inducer passage, confirming the highly three dimensional characteristic of inducer flow. Total relative velocity distribution indicate a substantial velocity deficiency near the tip at mid-passage which expands significantly as the flow proceeds toward the inducer trailing edge. High turbulence intensities and turbulence stresses are concentrated within this core region. Considerable wake diffusion occurs immediately downstream of the inducer trailing edge to decay this loss core. Evidence of boundary layer interactions, blade blockage effects, radially inward flows, annulus wall effects, and backflows are all found to exist within the long, narrow passages of the inducer.

Gorton, C. A.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Doppler lidar signal and turbulence study

Wind fields were measured with the ground-based NASA/MSFC lidar are compared with the in situ NASA RB-57 aircraft measurements. The mean wind fields, the turbulence intensities, and the turbulence spectra determined from measurements by both systems are in very good agreement. Turbulence intensities and spectra were calculated from the fluctuations with time in the radial wind speed component. The second moment or Doppler frequency spectral width of the lidar measurements was also compared with turbulence intensities measured by the aircraft. These second moments could only be resolved at the very low altitudes (in three range bins). Turbulence intensities estimated from the spectral width data were an order of magnitude higher than those measured by the aircraft. An interesting boundary layer evolved during the progress of the experiment. The breakup of a stable boundary layer resulted in winds blowing in one direction above 600 m msl and in the opposite direction below that level. Both the aircraft and the lidar systems clearly identified this unusual boundary layer flow and showed the identical trends.

Frost, W.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Measurements of the turbulent transport of heat and momentum in convexly curved boundary layers - Effects of curvature, recovery and free-stream turbulence

The effects of streamwise convex curvature, recovery, and freestream turbulence intensity on the turbulent transport of heat and momentum in a mature boundary layer are studied using a specially designed three-wire hot-wire probe. Increased freestream turbulence is found to increase the profiles throughout the boundary layer on the flat developing wall. Curvature effects were found to dominate turbulence intensity effects for the present cases considered. For the higher TI (turbulence intensity) case, negative values of the turbulent Prandtl number are found in the outer half of the boundary layer, indicating a breakdown in Reynolds analogy.

Kim, J.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Experimental analyses of trailing edge flows

An experimental study of several of the trailing edge and wake turbulence properties for a NACA 64A010 airfoil section was completed. The experiment was conducted at the Ohio State University Aeronautical and Astronautical Research Laboratory in the 6 inch X 22 inch transonic wind tunnel facility. The data were obtained at a free stream Mach number of 0.80 and a flow Reynolds number (based on chord length) of 5 million. The principle diagnostic tool was a dual-component laser Doppler velocimeter. The experimental data included surface static pressures, chordwise and vertical mean velocities, RMS turbulence intensities, local flow angles, and a determination of turbulence kinetic energy in the wake. Two angles of attack (0 and 2 degrees) were investigated. At these incidence angles, four flow field surveys were obtained ranging in position from the surface of the airfoil, between the transonic shock and the trailing edge, to the far-wake. At both angles of attack, the turbulence intensities and turbulence kinetic energy were observed to decay in the streamwise direction. In the far wake, for the non-lifting case, the turbulence intensities were nearly isotropic. For the two degree case, the horizontal component of the turbulence intensity was observed to be substantially higher than the vertical component.

Petrie, S. L.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Investigations of transonic trailing edge flows

An experimental study of several of the trailing edge and wake turbulence properties for a NACA 64A010 airfoil section was completed. The experiments were conducted at the Ohio State University Aeronautical and Astronautical Research Laboratory in the 6 inch x 22 inch transonic wind tunnel facility. The data were obtained at a free stream Mach number of 0.80 and a flow Reynolds number (based on chord length) of 5 million. The principal diagnostic tool was a dual-component laser Doppler velocimeter. The experimental data included surface static pressures, chordwise and vertical mean velocities, RMS turbulence intensities, local flow angles, and a determination of turbulence kinetic energy in the wake at chordwise locations between the transonic shock wave and the trailing edge, in the near wake just downstream of the trailing edge and in the far wake. At the two angles of attack tested (0 and 2 degrees), the turbulence intensities and turbulence kinetic energy were observed to decay in the streamwise direction. In the far wake, for the non-lifting case, the turbulence intensities were nearly isotropic. For the two degree case, the horizontal component of the turbulence intensity was observed to be substantially higher than the vertical component.

Petrie, S. L.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Effect of free-stream turbulence on film cooling

Film-cooling experiments were conducted at four levels of free-stream turbulence to test the hypothesis that the film-cooling effectiveness is inversely related to the free-stream turbulence level. The hot-gas operating conditions were held constant at a temperature of 590 K, a pressure of 1 atmosphere, and a velocity of 62 m/sec. The film-cooling air was at ambient inlet temperature, and the film-cooling flow rates were 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, and 10.0 percent of the total airflow. Blockage plates with blockage areas of 0, 52, 72, and 90 percent were placed upstream of the film-cooling slot and produced axial turbulence intensities of 7, 14, 23, and 35 percent, respectively. The film-cooling effectiveness decreased as much as 50 percent as the freestream turbulence intensity was increased from 7 to 35 percent. The value of the turbulent mixing coefficient used in previous work was compared with the axial turbulence intensity. The turbulent mixing coefficient was found to be 10 to 40 percent of the axial turbulence intensity.

Marek, C. J.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Laser anemometer measurements at the exit of a T63 combustor

In the first practical application of laser anemometry to an actual gas turbine engine combustor, the mean velocity and turbulent intensity profiles were measured in a steady-flow combustion rig across an annulus simulating a turbine inlet; to establish a basis for comparison with similar measurements to be made in an operating engine and to confirm current turbine aerodynamics and heat transfer design assumptions. It was necessary to develop a new experimental technique for traversing the annulus due to differential thermal expansion of the cantilevered combustion rig and a new computer-graphics analysis technique for analyzing the velocity histograms due to the high background light intensity. The axial mean velocity and turbulent intensity were uniform across the annulus under all operating conditions and the flow had little or no swirl component. The isothermal mean velocity was doubled by the burning of fuel, however, the isothermal turbulent intensity was relatively unaffected.

Zimmerman, D. R.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Aircraft/lidar turbulence comparison

Very good agreement between remotely sensed winds using a ground-based Doppler lidar and in situ measurements with an instrumented aircraft is possible. Results show that turbulence intensities computed from time histories measured with the aircraft and time histories of the radial wind measured with lidar can be analyzed statistically to provide turbulence intensities and turbulence spectra which agree well with one another. The results further show that the second moment data, as presently compared with the NASA/MSFC algorithms, do not provide meaningful comparisons with turbulence intensities measured with the aircraft. This disagreement, however, must be investigated further in terms of the accuracy of the second moment data determined by both the lidar hardware and the algorithm for computing the second moment.

Huang, Kao-Huah↗

DOE OSTI2024

Wind Farm Wakes and Farm-to-Farm Interactions: Lidar and Wind Tunnel Tests

Recent experimental and numerical evidence has shown that the cumulative wake generated from the overlapping of multiple wakes within a wind farm could reduce power performance and enhance fatigue loads of wind turbines installed in neighboring downstream wind farms and may also extend up to distances one order of magnitude larger than those typically considered for intra-farm wake interactions. Similar to individual wind turbine wakes, wind farm wakes have a velocity deficit and added turbulence intensity, both affected by the turbine rotor thrust forces and the incoming turbulence intensity. Therefore, the evolution of wind farm wakes will vary for different operational and atmospheric conditions. In this paper, lidar measurements collected during the American WAKE experimeNt (AWAKEN) and wind tunnel tests of wind farms reproduced by porous disks are leveraged to investigate wind farm wakes.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2022

Large eddy simulation of flow through an axisymmetric sudden expansion

Here, this study aims at investigating the inlet flow conditions of flow through an axisymmetric sudden expansion with an expansion ratio of 2.0. A series of large eddy simulations with the WALE model were conducted for different inlet Reynolds numbers ( Re) and turbulence intensities ($u_{rms}/\bar{U}_m$). The reattachment length, defined as the length measured downstream of the expansion where the flow direction is reversed adjacent to the wall ( Lr), was measured for each case. For widely studied inlet turbulence intensity values (TI), the simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental and numerical results reported in the literature. Parametric studies revealed that turbulence intensity affects the critical Reynolds number, marking the transition between the laminar and transition regions and the reattachment length. The critical Reynolds number was found to decrease with increasing turbulence intensity. A correlation expression is proposed. Additional analysis with proper orthogonal decomposition was performed to enhance the understanding of complex flow structures downstream of the expansion. Finally, an overall correlation expression for the reattachment length was obtained for 500 ≤ Re ≤15 000 and 0.2 ≤ TI (%) ≤ 20. For a given turbulence intensity, the reattachment length can be expressed for laminar and turbulent regions as a function of the Reynolds number. The reattachment length in the transition region can be expressed as a fractional average of reattachment lengths for laminar and turbulent flows.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

NASA NTRS1960

Measurement of Screen-Size Effects on Intensity, Scale, and Spectrum of Turbulence in a Free Subsonic Jet

The results are reported of hot-wire anemometer measurements of the fluctuating longitudinal component of the turbulent velocities in the mean flow downstream of screens in an air jet. These measurements have been analyzed by well-established techniques to give the influence of tile screen mesh size on the turbulent intensity, scale, and the power-spectral-density. The results show a linear dependence of the intensity upon the screen mesh size for locations within the central core of the air jet. The spectral-density curves show that the screens redistribute the turbulent energy from the low frequencies (<1000 cps) to the high frequencies (>1000 cps). The effects of the screens are overwhelmed in the mixing region of the jet flow by the turbulence levels existing there. The large pressure drops occurring across the screens reduce the velocity of the jet as compared to the jet without screens by approximately one-third for the velocity and range of mesh sizes investigated and reported in this report. The turbulence scale is a linear function of distance from the nozzle exit and is somewhat greater than comparable jets without screens.

Howard, Charles D.↗

DOE OSTI2022

Investigating the impact of atmospheric conditions on wake-steering performance at a commercial wind plant

Wake steering is a wind farm control strategy in which upstream wind turbines are misaligned with the wind to deflect their wakes away from downstream turbines, thereby increasing net energy production. But research suggests that the effectiveness of wake steering strongly depends on atmospheric conditions such as stability. In this paper, we investigate results from a two-turbine wake-steering experiment at a commercial wind plant to assess the impact of stability and five other atmospheric variables on wake-steering performance. Specifically, for different atmospheric condition bins we compare the ability of the controller to achieve the intended yaw offsets, the power gain from wake steering, and the reduction in wake losses. Further, we analyze wake-steering performance as a function of wind speed to eliminate the confounding impact of different wind speed distributions in different atmospheric conditions. Overall, we find that wind direction standard deviation is the best predictor of wake-steering performance, followed by turbulence intensity and turbulent kinetic energy. The results suggest the importance of adapting wake-steering control strategies to different atmospheric conditions.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2020

General Analysis of Data Collected from DOE Lidar Buoy Deployments Off Virginia and New Jersey

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) operates two AXYS WindSentinel lidar buoys for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind Energy Technologies. The purpose of these buoys is to collect hub-height winds and supporting meteorological and oceanographic information to facilitate the development of offshore wind energy in the U.S. In general, each buoy is deployed for a year or more at a given location in order to capture at least a full annual cycle of weather conditions. The initial deployment for one buoy was off the coast of Virginia beginning in 2015, and the other buoy was first deployed off the coast of New Jersey beginning in 2016. Over the last two years, PNNL has had an opportunity to analyze the data collected during these first two deployments. This report describes a substantial analysis of data collected by the two lidar buoys operated off the coasts of Virginia and New Jersey. The centerpiece instrument for each buoy as deployed off Virginia and New Jersey is a lidar system, which is designed to measure the horizontal wind vector from approximately 40 m to 200 m above the sea surface with vertical resolution of 40 m. Since the initial deployments, the original lidars have been replaced with more powerful Leosphere 866 v2 systems. The analyses in this report will apply to the original Vindicator systems. In addition to the wind profiles from the lidars, the buoys collect near-surface measurements of wind speed and direction, air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, and solar irradiance. Oceanographic variables measured include the two-dimensional wave spectrum, water temperature and conductivity, and ocean current vectors to a depth of 90 m. An assessment of overall data recovery and a basic analysis of the data collected was provided in a previous report This report substantially extends that analysis. The various sections describe the development and application of an inertial measurement unit (IMU) data recovery scheme for the New Jersey deployment; a climatological analysis of winds at hub height and at the surface together with thermodynamic variables measured at the surface for the full deployment periods; an analysis of oceanographic observations describe sea state; the development of a refinement for NOAA’s WaveWatch III model to allow its application to near-shore areas; a basic climatology of ocean currents observed from the buoys; an analysis of observed winds in the framework of Monin-Obukhov Similarity Theory; and the development and evaluation of techniques to extract turbulence intensity and turbulence kinetic energy from the lidars. The analyses contained in this report provide a great deal of new information about offshore conditions on the U.S. East Coast. In addition, the experience gained will inform both configurations and analysis of data from future deployments of these lidar buoy systems.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2026

WINDPROF: Merged Best-Estimate Wind Profile Data – Nantucket (WFIP3 Campaign)

WINDPROF provides 10-minute wind and turbulence profiles that integrate scanning Doppler lidars, a profiling lidar, a 915 MHz radar wind profiler, and a sonic anemometer across Northeast U.S. coastal and offshore sites during the WFIP3 campaign. Variables include wind speed, wind direction, vertical velocity, turbulence intensity, and turbulent kinetic energy, each with per-instrument quality control and inter-instrument agreement validation. Profiles are mapped to a standardized height grid – a dedicated near-surface level at the sonic measurement height (5 m AGL), 20 m spacing to 100 m, and 30 m spacing above – and carry component and derived uncertainty estimates. Heights are reported above ground level; the site's ground elevation is stored separately. The Nantucket dataset covers 1 February 2024 – 8 September 2025.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2026

WINDPROF: Merged Best-Estimate Wind Profile Data – Block Island (WFIP3 Campaign)

WINDPROF provides 10-minute wind and turbulence profiles that integrate a scanning Doppler lidar, a profiling lidar, a 915 MHz radar wind profiler, and a surface met station across Northeast U.S. coastal and offshore sites during the WFIP3 campaign. Variables include wind speed, wind direction, vertical velocity, turbulence intensity, and turbulent kinetic energy, each with per-instrument quality control and inter-instrument agreement validation. Profiles are mapped to a standardized height grid – a dedicated near-surface level at the 10 m surface-wind height, 20 m spacing to 100 m, and 30 m spacing above – and carry component and derived uncertainty estimates. Heights are reported above ground level; the site's ground elevation is stored separately. The Block Island dataset covers 1 February 2024 – 8 September 2025.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2026

WINDPROF: Merged Best-Estimate Wind Profile Data – Cape Cod (WFIP3 Campaign)

WINDPROF provides 10-minute wind and turbulence profiles that integrate a scanning Doppler lidar, a profiling Doppler lidar, and two sonic anemometers across Northeast U.S. coastal and offshore sites during the WFIP3 campaign. Variables include wind speed, wind direction, vertical velocity, turbulence intensity, and turbulent kinetic energy, each with per-instrument quality control and inter-instrument agreement validation. Profiles are mapped to a standardized height grid – dedicated near-surface levels at the sonic measurement heights (4 m and 10 m AGL), 20 m spacing to 100 m, and 30 m spacing above – and carry component and derived uncertainty estimates. Heights are reported above ground level; the site's ground elevation is stored separately. The Cape Cod dataset covers 1 February 2024 – 6 September 2025.

17 WIND ENERGY↗