Influence of a forest canopy on the neutral atmospheric boudary layer - A LES study

Paper in proceeding, 2014

Large-eddy simulation was used to investigate the influence of a forest on the neutral atmospheric boundary layer. This can yield important information for the design and placement of wind turbines in forest regions. Two simulations were conducted: one with and one without the forest. The simulation with forest showed good agreement with field measurements. It was found that the forest significantly increases both the wind shear and the turbulence intensity at the hub-height of an imaginary wind turbine. Both quantities clearly exceed the recent wind turbine design criteria.