Characterising Wind Speed and Directional Shear with sodar Data

Second WindRemote sensing technology, such as Sonic Detection and Ranging (sodar), has made it practical to obtain accurate measurements of wind speed and direction at several heights across the swept area of a typical wind turbine rotor. However, obtaining a large number of values for wind speed and directional shear over an entire measurement campaign can result in an unwieldy amount of data and make it difficult to draw conclusions. This article describes a simple technique for plotting the frequency of shear occurrence in order to highlight site-to-site differences that would affect wind turbine performance and reliability.

By Niels LaWhite, Chief Scientist, Elizabeth Walls, Research Scientist and Kenneth Cohn, Founding Partner, Second Wind Inc., USA .

Login

Use of cookies

Windtech International wants to make your visit to our website as pleasant as possible. That is why we place cookies on your computer that remember your preferences. With anonymous information about your site use you also help us to improve the website. Of course we will ask for your permission first. Click Accept to use all functions of the Windtech International website.