This dissertation addresses a critical challenge in wind energy research: accurately predicting wind turbine wakes using Large Eddy Simulation (LES), which depends heavily on high-quality experimental validation data.
The work introduces a new model-scale wind turbine called TWIST (Turbine for Wind tunnel Investigation & Scaled Testing), designed and experimentally characterized in a controlled wind tunnel environment with detailed hot-wire measurements. On the numerical side, several methodological advances enable cost-efficient and physically consistent LES, including wall-modeled LES implementation, novel inflow control methods (RPS and ACTIF), and a continuous Actuator Line Model (cALM) for representing turbine aerodynamics.
These developments are integrated into an LES-based digital twin of the TWIST experiment. Comparisons with experimental measurements show that the framework captures essential near-wake flow features and reproduces observed trends under varying operating conditions, demonstrating strong predictive quality. Overall, this combined experimental-numerical approach provides a solid foundation for future investigations of wind turbine wakes and more reliable LES-based tools for wind energy research.
Membres du jury :
- Prof. Grégoire Winckelmans (UCLouvain)(Promoteur)
- Prof. Renaud Ronsse (UCLouvain) (Président)
- Dr. Matthieu Duponcheel (UCLouvain) (Secrétaire)
- Prof. Jeroen van Beeck (von Karman Institute) (Co-promoteur)
- Prof. Joris Degroote (UGent)
- Prof. Sandrine Aubrun (École Centrale Nantes)
- Dr. Sophia Buckingham (ENGIE Laborelec)
Soutenance publique également accessible par visio-conférence via le lien (TEAMS) :
https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/35513448113251?p=o966pBIJhilmKKie2d
Meeting ID: 355 134 481 132 51
Passcode: ym76Qt68
