scholarly journals Departure from <i>K</i>-theory in the planetary boundary layer

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Santos ◽  
Alfredo Peña ◽  
Jakob Mann
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Mesoscale Model ◽  
Vertical Gradient ◽  
Large Eddy Simulations ◽  
Horizontal Velocity ◽  
Model Output ◽  
Energy Applications ◽  
Large Eddy ◽  
Momentum Fluxes ◽  
The Mean

Abstract. It is well known that when eddies are small, the eddy fluxes can be directly related to the mean vertical gradients, the so-called K-theory, but such relation becomes weaker the larger the coherent structures. Here, we show that this relation does not hold at heights relevant for wind energy applications. The relation implies that the angle (β) between the vector of vertical flux of horizontal momentum and the vector of the mean vertical gradient of horizontal velocity is zero, i.e., the vectors are aligned. This is not what we observe from measurements performed both offshore and onshore. We quantify the misalignment of β using measurements from a long-range Doppler profiling lidar and large-eddy simulations. We also use mesoscale model output from the New European Wind Atlas project to compare with the lidar-observed vertical profiles of wind speed, wind direction, momentum fluxes, and the angle between the horizontal velocity vector and the momentum flux vector up to 500 m both offshore and onshore, hence covering the rotor areas of modern wind turbines and beyond. The results show that within the range 100–500 m, β = −18° offshore and β = 12° onshore, on average. However, the large-eddy simulations show β ≈ 0°, partly confirming previous modeling results. We illustrate that mesoscale model output matches the observed mean wind speed and momentum fluxes well, but that this model output has significant deviations with the observations when looking at the turning of the wind.

scholarly journals Departure from Flux-Gradient Relation in the Planetary Boundary Layer

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 672
Author(s):  
Pedro Santos ◽  
Alfredo Peña ◽  
Jakob Mann
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Mesoscale Model ◽  
Large Eddy Simulations ◽  
Horizontal Velocity ◽  
Vertical Profiles ◽  
Height Range ◽  
Flux Gradient ◽  
Large Eddy ◽  
Momentum Fluxes ◽  
The Mean

It is well known that when eddies are small, the eddy fluxes can be directly related to the mean vertical gradients, the so-called flux-gradient relation, but such a relation becomes weaker the larger the coherent structures. Here, we show that this relation does not hold at heights relevant for wind energy applications. The flux–gradient relation assumes that the angle (β) between the vector of vertical flux of horizontal momentum and the vector of the mean vertical gradient of horizontal velocity is zero, i.e., these vectors are aligned. Our observations do not support this assumption, either onshore or offshore. Here, we present analyses of a misalignment between these vectors from a Doppler wind lidar observations and large-eddy simulations. We also use a real-time mesoscale model output for inter-comparison with the lidar-observed vertical profiles of wind speed, wind direction, momentum fluxes, and the angle between the horizontal velocity vector and the momentum flux vector up to 500 m, both offshore and onshore. The observations show this within the height range 100–500 m, β=−18∘ offshore and β=−12∘ onshore, on average. However, the large-eddy simulations show β≈0∘ both offshore and onshore. We show that observed and mesoscale-simulated vertical profiles of mean wind speed and momentum fluxes agree well; however, the mesoscale results significantly deviate from the wind-turning observations.

scholarly journals Evaluation of large-eddy simulations forced with mesoscale model output for a multi-week period during a measurement campaign

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 7083-7109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rieke Heinze ◽  
Christopher Moseley ◽  
Lennart Nils Böske ◽  
Shravan Kumar Muppa ◽  
Vera Maurer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Mesoscale Model ◽  
Large Eddy Simulations ◽  
Model Output ◽  
Synoptic Scale ◽  
High Definition ◽  
Shallow Cumulus ◽  
Large Eddy ◽  
Lidar Measurements ◽  
The Mean

Abstract. Large-eddy simulations (LESs) of a multi-week period during the HD(CP)2 (High-Definition Clouds and Precipitation for advancing Climate Prediction) Observational Prototype Experiment (HOPE) conducted in Germany are evaluated with respect to mean boundary layer quantities and turbulence statistics. Two LES models are used in a semi-idealized setup through forcing with mesoscale model output to account for the synoptic-scale conditions. Evaluation is performed based on the HOPE observations. The mean boundary layer characteristics like the boundary layer depth are in a principal agreement with observations. Simulating shallow-cumulus layers in agreement with the measurements poses a challenge for both LES models. Variance profiles agree satisfactorily with lidar measurements. The results depend on how the forcing data stemming from mesoscale model output are constructed. The mean boundary layer characteristics become less sensitive if the averaging domain for the forcing is large enough to filter out mesoscale fluctuations.

scholarly journals Evaluation of large-eddy simulations forced with mesoscale model output for a multi-week period during a measurement campaign

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rieke Heinze ◽  
Christopher Moseley ◽  
Lennart Nils Böske ◽  
Shravan Muppa ◽  
Vera Maurer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Mesoscale Model ◽  
Large Eddy Simulations ◽  
Model Output ◽  
Synoptic Scale ◽  
High Definition ◽  
Shallow Cumulus ◽  
Large Eddy ◽  
Lidar Measurements ◽  
The Mean

Abstract. Large-eddy simulations (LES) of a multi-week period during the HD(CP)2 (High-Definition Clouds and Precipitation for advancing Climate Prediction) Observational Prototype Experiment (HOPE) conducted in Germany are evaluated with respect to mean boundary layer quantities and turbulence statistics. Two LES models are used in a semi-idealized setup through forcing with mescoscale model output to account for the synoptic-scale conditions. Evaluation is performed based on the HOPE observations. The mean boundary layer characteristics like the boundary layer depth are in a principal agreement with observations. Simulating shallow-cumulus layers in agreement with the measurements poses a challenge for both LES models. Variance profiles agree satisfactorily with lidar measurements. The results depend on how the forcing data stemming from mesoscale model output is constructed. The mean boundary layer characteristics become less sensitive if the averaging domain for the forcing is large enough to filter out mesoscale fluctuations.

scholarly journals Large-Eddy Simulations of a Drizzling, Stratocumulus-Topped Marine Boundary Layer

2009 ◽  
Vol 137 (3) ◽  
pp. 1083-1110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew S. Ackerman ◽  
Margreet C. vanZanten ◽  
Bjorn Stevens ◽  
Verica Savic-Jovcic ◽  
Christopher S. Bretherton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Marine Boundary Layer ◽  
Cloud Water ◽  
Large Eddy Simulations ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Entrainment Rate ◽  
Liquid Water Path ◽  
Average Maximum ◽  
Large Eddy ◽  
The Mean

Abstract Cloud water sedimentation and drizzle in a stratocumulus-topped boundary layer are the focus of an intercomparison of large-eddy simulations. The context is an idealized case study of nocturnal stratocumulus under a dry inversion, with embedded pockets of heavily drizzling open cellular convection. Results from 11 groups are used. Two models resolve the size distributions of cloud particles, and the others parameterize cloud water sedimentation and drizzle. For the ensemble of simulations with drizzle and cloud water sedimentation, the mean liquid water path (LWP) is remarkably steady and consistent with the measurements, the mean entrainment rate is at the low end of the measured range, and the ensemble-average maximum vertical wind variance is roughly half that measured. On average, precipitation at the surface and at cloud base is smaller, and the rate of precipitation evaporation greater, than measured. Including drizzle in the simulations reduces convective intensity, increases boundary layer stratification, and decreases LWP for nearly all models. Including cloud water sedimentation substantially decreases entrainment, decreases convective intensity, and increases LWP for most models. In nearly all cases, LWP responds more strongly to cloud water sedimentation than to drizzle. The omission of cloud water sedimentation in simulations is strongly discouraged, regardless of whether or not precipitation is present below cloud base.

scholarly journals Comparison of Large Eddy Simulations of a convective boundary layer with wind LIDAR measurements

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Pedersen ◽  
M. Kelly ◽  
S.-E. Gryning ◽  
R. Floors ◽  
E. Batchvarova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Geostrophic Wind ◽  
Large Eddy Simulations ◽  
Horizontal Wind ◽  
Convective Boundary ◽  
Horizontal Wind Speed ◽  
Large Eddy ◽  
Lidar Measurements ◽  
Wind Lidar

Abstract. Vertical profiles of the horizontal wind speed and of the standard deviation of vertical wind speed from Large Eddy Simulations of a convective atmospheric boundary layer are compared to wind LIDAR measurements up to 1400 m. Fair agreement regarding both types of profiles is observed only when the simulated flow is driven by a both time- and height-dependent geostrophic wind and a time-dependent surface heat flux. This underlines the importance of mesoscale effects when the flow above the atmospheric surface layer is simulated with a computational fluid dynamics model.

scholarly journals The Role of Wave-Induced Coriolis–Stokes Forcing on the Wind-Driven Mixed Layer

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 444-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff A. Polton ◽  
David M. Lewis ◽  
Stephen E. Belcher
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Solution ◽  
Observational Data ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Analytical Solutions ◽  
Eddy Viscosity ◽  
Large Eddy Simulations ◽  
Current Profile ◽  
Large Eddy ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Mean Current

Abstract The interaction between the Coriolis force and the Stokes drift associated with ocean surface waves leads to a vertical transport of momentum, which can be expressed as a force on the mean momentum equation in the direction along wave crests. How this Coriolis–Stokes forcing affects the mean current profile in a wind-driven mixed layer is investigated using simple models, results from large-eddy simulations, and observational data. The effects of the Coriolis–Stokes forcing on the mean current profile are examined by reappraising analytical solutions to the Ekman model that include the Coriolis–Stokes forcing. Turbulent momentum transfer is modeled using an eddy-viscosity model, first with a constant viscosity and second with a linearly varying eddy viscosity. Although the Coriolis–Stokes forcing penetrates only a small fraction of the depth of the wind-driven layer for parameter values typical of the ocean, the analytical solutions show how the current profile is substantially changed through the whole depth of the wind-driven layer. It is shown how, for this oceanic regime, the Coriolis–Stokes forcing supports a fraction of the applied wind stress, changing the boundary condition on the wind-driven component of the flow and hence changing the current profile through all depths. The analytical solution with the linearly varying eddy viscosity is shown to reproduce reasonably well the effects of the Coriolis–Stokes forcing on the current profile computed from large-eddy simulations, which resolve the three-dimensional overturning motions associated with the turbulent Langmuir circulations in the wind-driven layer. Last, the analytical solution with the Coriolis–Stokes forcing is shown to agree reasonably well with current profiles from previously published observational data and certainly agrees better than the standard Ekman model. This finding provides evidence that the Coriolis–Stokes forcing is an important mechanism in controlling the dynamics of the upper ocean.

Large Eddy Simulations of Flow Past Two Pipelines in Tandem in Close Proximity to the Seabed

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhong Li ◽  
Mia Abrahamsen Prsic ◽  
Muk Chen Ong ◽  
Boo Cheong Khoo
Keyword(s):  
Drag Coefficient ◽  
Recirculation Zone ◽  
Separation Distance ◽  
Large Eddy Simulations ◽  
Plane Wall ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Tandem Cylinders ◽  
Flow Past ◽  
Large Eddy ◽  
The Mean

Three-dimensional Large Eddy Simulations (LES) with Smagorinsky subgrid scale model have been performed for the flow past two free-spanning marine pipelines in tandem placed in the vicinity of a plane wall at a very small gap ratio, namely G/D = 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5. The ratio of cylinder center-to-center distance to cylinder diameter, or pitch ratio, L/D, considered in the simulations is taken as L/D = 2 and 5. This work serves as an extension of Abrahamsen Prsic et al. (2015) [1]. In essence, six sets of simulations have been performed in the subcritical Reynolds number regime at Re = 1.31 × 104. Our major findings can be summarized as follows. (1) At both pitch ratios, the wall proximity has a decreasing effect on the mean drag coefficient of the upstream cylinder. At L/D = 2, the mean drag coefficient of the downstream cylinder is negative since it is located within the drag inversion separation distance. (2) At L/D = 2, a squarish cavity-like flow exists between the tandem cylinders and flow circulates within the cavity. A long lee-wake recirculation zone is found behind the downstream cylinder at G/D = 0.1. However, a much smaller lee-wake recirculation zone is noticed at L/D = 5 with G/D = 0.1. (3) At L/D = 2, the reattachment is biased to the bottom shear layer due towards the deflection from the plane wall, which leads to the formation of the slanted squarish cavity-like flow where the flow circulates between the tandem cylinders.

scholarly journals Large-eddy simulation sensitivities to variations of configuration and forcing parameters in canonical boundary-layer flows for wind energy applications

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 589-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey D. Mirocha ◽  
Matthew J. Churchfield ◽  
Domingo Muñoz-Esparza ◽  
Raj K. Rai ◽  
Yan Feng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Wind Energy ◽  
Physical Factors ◽  
Convective Conditions ◽  
Measurement Variability ◽  
Energy Applications ◽  
Model Configuration ◽  
Large Eddy ◽  
Quantities Of Interest

Abstract. The sensitivities of idealized large-eddy simulations (LESs) to variations of model configuration and forcing parameters on quantities of interest to wind power applications are examined. Simulated wind speed, turbulent fluxes, spectra and cospectra are assessed in relation to variations in two physical factors, geostrophic wind speed and surface roughness length, and several model configuration choices, including mesh size and grid aspect ratio, turbulence model, and numerical discretization schemes, in three different code bases. Two case studies representing nearly steady neutral and convective atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) flow conditions over nearly flat and homogeneous terrain were used to force and assess idealized LESs, using periodic lateral boundary conditions. Comparison with fast-response velocity measurements at 10 heights within the lowest 100 m indicates that most model configurations performed similarly overall, with differences between observed and predicted wind speed generally smaller than measurement variability. Simulations of convective conditions produced turbulence quantities and spectra that matched the observations well, while those of neutral simulations produced good predictions of stress, but smaller than observed magnitudes of turbulence kinetic energy, likely due to tower wakes influencing the measurements. While sensitivities to model configuration choices and variability in forcing can be considerable, idealized LESs are shown to reliably reproduce quantities of interest to wind energy applications within the lower ABL during quasi-ideal, nearly steady neutral and convective conditions over nearly flat and homogeneous terrain.

scholarly journals Turbulent Flow Fields Over a 3D Hill Covered by Vegetation Canopy Through Large Eddy Simulations

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 3624 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhenqing Liu ◽  
Yiran Hu ◽  
Yichen Fan ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Qingsong Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Flow Fields ◽  
Large Eddy Simulations ◽  
Wind Tunnel Experiments ◽  
Turbulence Structures ◽  
Large Eddy ◽  
Turbulence Kinetic Energy Budget ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Spanwise Rotation ◽  
The Hill

The flow fields over a simplified 3D hill covered by vegetation have been examined by many researchers. However, there is scarce research giving the three-dimensional characteristics of the flow fields over a rough 3D hill. In this study, large eddy simulations were performed to examine the coherent turbulence structures of the flow fields over a vegetation-covered 3D hill. The numerical simulations were validated by the comparison with the wind-tunnel experiments. Besides, the flow fields were systematically investigated, including the examinations of the mean velocities and root means square of the fluctuating velocities. The distributions of the parameters are shown in a three-dimensional way, i.e., plotting the parameters on a series of spanwise slices. Some noteworthy three-dimensional features were found, and the mechanisms were further revealed by assessing the turbulence kinetic energy budget and the spectrum energy. Subsequently, the instantaneous flow fields were illustrated, from which the coherent turbulence structures were clearly identified. Ejection-sweep motion was intensified just behind the hill crest, leading to a spanwise rotation. A group of vertical rotations were generated by the shedding of the vortex from the lateral sides of the hill.

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