Placement Optimization of Large-Scale Offshore Wind Farms Using Yaw Steering Method

Abstract

Offshore wind farms are attracting attention as a measure against climate change because they are environmentally friendly and generate a large amount of electricity. However, as a problem of wind farms, it has been pointed out that the wake of the wind turbine reduces the amount of power generation and causes fatigue fracture. In this study, the yaw steering method was adopted as a solution to the wind turbine wake problem. The yaw steering method is a method that causes the wake deflection by tilting the rotor surface of the wind turbine that normally faces the inflow. By deflecting the wake, the influence of the wake on the downstream wind turbine can be suppressed. As a result, the power generation of the entire wind farm can be increased, and the service life can be extended. From the results of the wind tunnel experiment, it was confirmed that the wind turbine output increased under certain conditions. In addition, the results of numerical calculations revealed that the asymmetrical flow field on the left and right of the tower affects the flow velocity distribution of the wake.