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Results for “Freestream velocity”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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5 records
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DOE OSTI2025

Laser Measurements and Modeling of Shock Tunnel Freestream Velocity and Multispecies Thermal Nonequilibrium

Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) and nitric oxide molecular tagging velocimetry (NO-MTV) were used to characterize the freestream in Sandia’s Hypersonic Shock Tunnel (HST) using a burst-mode laser operated at 100 kHz. Experiments were performed at nominal freestream velocities of 3 and 4 km/s using both air and N 2 test gas. The CARS diagnostic provides nonequilibrium characterization of the flow by measuring vibrational and rotational temperatures of N 2 and O 2 , which are compared to NO temperatures from separate laser absorption experiments. Simultaneous, collinear freestream velocities were measured using NO MTV along with pitot pressure measurements. Furthermore, this extensive freestream dataset is compared to nonequilibrium CFD that is capable of modeling species-specific, vibrational temperatures throughout the nozzle expansion. Significant nonequilibrium between vibrational and rotational temperatures was measured at each flow condition. N 2 exhibits the most nonequilibrium, followed by O 2 and NO. The CFD model captures this trend, although it consistently overpredicts N 2 and O 2 vibrational temperatures. At 3 km/s, the modeled NO nonequilibrium is underpredicted, whereas it is overpredicted at 4 km/s. Good agreement is seen between CFD and the velocity and rotational temperature measurements. Experiments with water added to the test gas yielded no discernable difference in vibrational relaxation.

Aerodynamics↗
DOE OSTI2025

Observations of wind farm wake recovery at an operating wind farm

Abstract. The interplay of momentum surrounding wind farms significantly influences wake recovery, affecting the speed at which wakes return to their freestream velocities. Under stable atmospheric conditions, wind farm wakes can extend over considerable distances, leading to sustained vertical momentum flux downstream, with variations observed throughout the diurnal cycle. Particularly in regions such as the US Great Plains, stable conditions can induce low-level jets (LLJs), impacting wind farm performance and power output. This study examines the implications of wake recovery using long-term observations of vertical momentum flux profiles across diverse atmospheric conditions. In these observations, several key findings were observed, such as (a) LLJ heights being altered downstream of a wind farm, especially when the LLJs are below 250 m above ground level; (b) a notable impact of LLJ height on wake recovery being observed using momentum flux profiles at upwind and downwind locations, wherein LLJs between 250 and 500 m above ground level resulted in larger momentum transfer within the wake (i.e., smaller velocity deficit) compared to LLJs below 250 m above ground level; (c) the largest momentum flux variability being observed during stable atmospheric conditions, with non-negligible variability observed during neutral and unstable atmospheric conditions; (d) detection of wake effects almost always being observed throughout the atmospheric boundary layer height; and finally (e) enhancement of wake recovery being observed in the presence of propagating gravity waves. These insights deepen our understanding of the intricate dynamics governing wake recovery in wind farms, advancing efforts to model and predict their behavior across varying atmospheric contexts. In addition, the performance of large-eddy-simulation-based semi-empirical internal boundary layer height model estimates incorporating real-world atmospheric and turbine inputs was evaluated using observations during LLJ conditions.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Land-based wind plant wake characterization using dual-Doppler radar measurements at AWAKEN

Wind plant wakes have been shown to persist for tens of kilometers downstream in offshore environments, reducing the power output of neighboring plants, but their behavior on land remains relatively unexplored through observation. This study capitalizes on the unique and extensive field data collected for the American WAKE ExperimeNt (AWAKEN) project underway in northern Oklahoma. X-band dual-Doppler radars deployed at this site measure wind speed and direction at 25-m and 2-min resolution within a 30-km range, capturing the interactions between three neighboring wind plants. These measurements show that the wake of one wind plant extends at least 15 km downstream under easterly wind and stable atmospheric conditions. Though the wake wind speed increases within the first 10 km, it plateaus at 90% of the freestream wind speed. The spanwise velocity distribution within the wake initially shows the clear signature of the wind plant layout, which is smoothed as it propagates downstream, indicating spanwise momentum transfer is a key mechanism in wind plant wake development and recovery. These findings have important implications for wind plant siting decisions and resource assessments, and provide insights into atmospheric interactions at the wind plant scale.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Freestream turbulence effects on unsteady wind turbine loads and wakes: An IDDES study

We investigate numerically the effects of freestream turbulence on the unsteady aerodynamics and wakes of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Phase VI wind turbine rotor for increasing wind speed. Turbulence is modeled using the Improved Delayed Detached-Eddy Simulation (IDDES) method. As a first step, a detailed mesh resolution study is conducted with the decaying freestream turbulence model at turbulence intensity of 0.5%. Our blade-resolved IDDES simulations show that grid-independent average torque and thrust results can be achieved with relatively coarse meshes, whereas dramatically higher mesh resolution is required for grid-independent results for power spectral densities of thrust force, especially in the deep-stall regime. Comparing the loads with the Shear-Stress Transport model demonstrates the superiority of IDDES in predicting massively separated flows. The aerodynamic performance and wake predictions with the decaying freestream turbulence model are compared with the synthetic freestream turbulence model. Both models predict nearly the same loads, spectral energy content, and wake characteristics. The properties of both the near- and far-wake regions are then examined. Furthermore, we show that separated boundary layers accelerate turbulent mixing and entrainment of the external flow, which results in faster wake recovery. The effect of increasing turbulence intensity to 6% is investigated using the synthetic freestream turbulence model. In contrast with the fully attached boundary layer, higher freestream turbulence in deep stall does not significantly affect the loads and vortex-shedding characteristics. However, the turbulent mixing in the wake is enhanced, which further hastens the recovery of the self-similar velocity profile. In general, increasing the wind speed at high turbulence intensity shifts the recovery farther upstream and increases the wake width.

17 WIND ENERGY↗