Effects of Offshore Wind Energy on Ocean Circulation and Mixing

A one-way numerical coupling of the ocean and atmosphere was developed to study the effects of offshore wind turbines in the surrounding oceanic regions. Our in-house UTD-WF LES code was used to model the atmospheric boundary layer and wind turbines, whereas FVCOM (Finite Volume Community Ocean Model) was used to model the oceanic domain. 

 

An ideal wind farm, consisting of an array of 2 x 4 turbines uniformly spaced along the direction of the flow, was modeled. Two sets of simulations, with a uniform-inlet and a turbulent-inlet at a Reynolds number of Re_D = U_refD/ν = 9.77 x 10⁷, were performed. The wind flow from these simulations were used as shear forcing for the ocean model. 

 

From the results, it is evident that the induction zone from the turbines is directly translated into the ocean surface. This high-pressure zone introduces a spanwise shear component that initiates a streamwise-normal vortex that spans the depth of the ocean domain. When turbulence is presented at the inlet, these large vortices no longer retain their structures because of the increased mixing of the flow.  Further discussion of the results will be presented at the conference presentation.

HPC at UTD and TACC is acknowledged for providing computational time.