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Abstract Modifying turbine blade pitch, generator torque, and nacelle direction (yaw) are conventional approaches for enhancing energy output and alleviating structural loads. However, the efficacy of such methods is challenged by the lag in adjusting such settings after atmospheric variations are detected. Without reliable short-term wind forecasting tools, current practice, which mostly relies on data collected at or just behind turbines, can result in sub-optimal performance. Data-assimilation strategies can achieve real-time wind forecasting capabilities by correcting model-based predictions of the incoming wind using various field measurements. In this paper, we revisit the development of a class of prior models for real-time estimation via Kalman filtering algorithms that track atmospheric variations using ground-level pressure sensors. This class of models is given by the stochastically forced linearized Navier-Stokes equations around the three-dimensional waked velocity profile defined by a curled wake model. The stochastic input to these models is devised using convex optimization to achieve statistical consistency with high-fidelity large-eddy simulations. We demonstrate the ability of such models in reproducing the second-order statistical signatures of the turbulent velocity field. In support of assimilating ground-level pressure measurements with the predictions of said models, we also highlight the significance of the wall-normal dimension in enhancing two-point correlations of the pressure field between the ground and the computational domain.
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This content will become publicly available on January 29, 2026
Short-term wind forecasting via surface pressure measurements: Stochastic modeling and sensor placement
We propose a short-term wind forecasting framework for predicting real-time variations in atmospheric turbulence based on nacelle-mounted anemometer and ground-level air-pressure measurements. Our approach combines linear stochastic estimation and Kalman filtering algorithms to assimilate and process real-time field measurements with the predictions of a stochastic reduced-order model that is confined to a two-dimensional plane at the hub height of turbines. We bridge the vertical gap between the computational plane of the model at hub height and the measurement plane on the ground using a projection technique that allows us to infer the pressure in one plane from the other. Depending on the quality of this inference, we show that customized variants of the extended and ensemble Kalman filters can be tuned to balance estimation quality and computational speed 1–1.5 diameters ahead and behind leading turbines. In particular, we show how synchronizing the sign of estimates with that of velocity fluctuations recorded at the nacelle can significantly improve the ability to follow temporal variations upwind of the leading turbine. We also propose a convex optimization-based framework for selecting a subset of pressure sensors that achieve a desired level of accuracy relative to the optimal Kalman filter that uses all sensing capabilities.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1916776
- PAR ID:
- 10658220
- Publisher / Repository:
- AIP
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy
- Volume:
- 17
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 1941-7012
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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