Implicit large eddy simulations for the actuator line method of wind turbine

Journal article

This paper evaluates the effects of the Sub-grid Stress (SGS) model on wind turbine simulations using the Actuator Line Method (ALM), taking into account numerical discretisation error, SGS modelling error and blade modelling error. The investigation covers the implicit Large Eddy Simulation (iLES) model, the Wall-adapting Local Eddy-viscosity (WALE) model, and the Smagorinsky model (SM). A detailed analysis of the aerodynamic loads and wake behaviour of the NTNU benchmarking turbine Blind Test 1 is conducted, with uniform laminar and turbulent inlets imposed at varying grid resolutions, both with and without nacelle geometry. A turbulent inlet triggers an earlier transition and results in faster wake recovery. The explicit SGS model is not necessary for predicting total power coefficients and aerodynamic loadings as blade modelling errors are qualitatively dominant. Under a turbulent inlet, the time-averaged velocity is insensitive to SGS models on both coarse and fine grids. For resolved turbulent kinetic energy, the WALE model with a coarse grid provides slightly better resolution than the iLES and SM models in the far wake region. In conclusion, iLES is workable for the ALM of wind turbines.

Authors: Cao, G; Vogel, C; Zormpa, M; Li, Q

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• Journal: Journal of Physics: Conference Series
• Volume: 3224
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 042021
• Article number: 042021
• Publication date: 2026-05-01
• DOI: 10.1088/1742-6596/3224/4/042021
• EISSN: 1742-6596
• ISSN: 1742-6588
• Language: English