Prof. Dr. Martin Obligado 

I propose an experimental study on the wake structure of vertical and horizontal axis wind turbines under different laminar and turbulent inflow conditions. This will be achieved by testing scaled models in a wind tunnel, that allows to produce bespoke turbulent inflows. Both types of turbines present several advantages and disadvantages for onshore and offshore wind farms, and there is an intense debate in the wind energy industry and research community about how each type of rotor would perform in different layouts and atmospheric conditions.

The focus of this study is mainly fundamental, as it aims for a better understanding and the characterisation of the turbulent flow created by wind turbines. Nevertheless, it has a direct practical application as it will provide the wind energy industry with a systematic comparison between two types of turbines on the same wind tunnel under realistic inflow conditions. The relevance of this approach is that the comparison between wakes will not be biased by the effects that arise when using different experimental setups, that are known to affect significantly the structure and properties of a wake.

The main objective of this project is therefore to provide a database and back-of-the-envelope models that will help the research community and wind energy industry to choose among the two different families of turbines for a given terrain and operating conditions.