Full-Scale and Wind Tunnel Investigation of the Flow Field Over a Coastal Escarpment

A multiscale experimental approach, consisting of full-scale measurements and physical modeling in a laboratory environment, was conducted to investigate the flow field over a coastal escarpment on the Wind Energy Institute of Canada’s research and development wind park. The influence of sea breeze inflow conditions, thermal stability and local topographic features on the flow field were examined. The results of the full-scale study show that the near surface flow field is significantly influenced by the sea breeze circulatory coastal flow regime, creating larger shear layers with a smaller recirculation regions compared to cases of typical boundary layer flow typical boundary layer flow. Results of the physical modeling show an agreeable comparison between the hub height wind speeds at the location of a turbine was achieved under non-ABL conditions by simulated the non-ABL inflow. Additionally, significantly different mean and turbulent flow fields were observed for three different escarpment geometries