ForWind Oldenburg – Master’s thesis or internship project – Improvement of the Actuator Disk Method (ADM) in Large Eddy Simulations (LES)

by Jul 31, 2024Vacancies

We are looking for a student for a master’s thesis/internship project on the topic of

‘Improvement of the Actuator Disk Method (ADM) in Large Eddy Simulations (LES)’

at ForWind Oldenburg at the Institute of Physics of the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg.

Wind turbines in atmospheric numerical models, like PALM, are often simplified and discretized along the grid. Currently, there are three main methods to represent a wind turbine in a numerical model: the Actuator Line Model (ALM), the Actuator Disk Model (ADM), and the ADM with rotation (ADM R). Each method has its own strengths and weaknesses. For example, the ADM’s strength lies in its minimal information requirements, but is very simplified. On the other hand, ALM and ADM R are more sophisticated, but usually needs data that commercial wind turbine manufacturers are unwilling to share.

Scope:
The student will learn PALM LES and work on enhancing the existing Actuator Disk Model (ADM). This learning process will be supervised. The objective is to refine the ADM to include rotation along its yaw axis and potentially incorporate a controller to manage yaw misalignments. The results will be thoroughly discussed, documented, and the final version will be shared with the PALM community.

Work steps:
1) Study Relevant Theory: Develop a basic understanding of LES and wind turbine representations.
2) Familiarize with LES Simulations: Learn to execute LES simulations using the current ADM.
3) Discuss Findings and Plan Approach: Review initial findings and create a detailed plan of approach.
4) Improve ADM Discretization: Enhance the ADM to allow for yaw axis rotation.
5) Compare Improved ADM with Current ADM: Evaluate and discuss the results of the improvements.
6) Analyze ADM Behavior: Investigate the behavior in the upstream, near wake, and far wake of the wind turbine.
7) Analyze ADM in Wind Farm Setups: Compare the behavior of a single turbine with that of multiple turbines in a wind farm.
8) Optional: Introduce a controller to manage yaw misalignment, tilt, etc.
9) Document Findings: Discuss the results and provide recommendations for further investigations and improvements. Share the final ADM version with the PALM community.

To apply, please contact Jorrit Meijer (jorrit.meijer@uni-oldenburg.de)