How Tree Rows Affect Wind Turbine Inflow Conditions: A Numerical Study of Speed-Up Effects and Blade Loads
Abstract
While forests are known to increase turbulence and fatigue loads on wind turbines, the impact of smaller-scale vegetation such as tree rows has received limited attention. This study investigates speed-up effects caused by a tree row and their influence on wind turbine power and blade loads using Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) and OpenFAST. A realistically modeled tree row at the Risø campus is considered, including seasonal variations in leaf area index (LAI). The simulations reveal a speed-up region above the canopy, leading to a relative power increase of approximately 6% for the high-LAI case and about half that value for the low-LAI case. Aeroelastic simulations with the NREL 5 MW wind turbine confirm the power increase and show a rise in flapwise blade root bending loads. Second-order statistics within the rotor plane remain largely unchanged, indicating that the load increase is driven by mean flow acceleration rather than turbulence. These results demonstrate that tree rows can increase power and highlight the influence of local vegetation in wind turbine siting.
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| Titel | How Tree Rows Affect Wind Turbine Inflow Conditions: A Numerical Study of Speed-Up Effects and Blade Loads |
|---|---|
| Medien | Proceedings - Journal of Physics: Conference Series |
| Verlag | IOP Publishing Ltd |
| Heft | 3224 |
| Verfasser | Konstantin Zacharias, Bernhard Rösch, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Alexander Buchele |
| Seiten | 022014 |
| Veröffentlichungsdatum | 28.05.2026 |
| Projekttitel | WINDbreaks |
| Zitation | Zacharias, Konstantin; Rösch, Bernhard; Buchele, Alexander (2026): How Tree Rows Affect Wind Turbine Inflow Conditions: A Numerical Study of Speed-Up Effects and Blade Loads. Proceedings - Journal of Physics: Conference Series (3224), 022014. DOI: 10.1088/1742-6596/3224/2/022014 |