An experimental study was carried out to investigate the aeromechanics and wake characteristics of dual-rotor wind turbines (DRWTs) with co- and counter-rotating configurations, in comparison to those of a conventional single-rotor wind turbine (SRWT), in order to elucidate the underlying physics to explore/optimize design of wind turbines for higher power yield and better durability. The experiments were performed in a large-scale Aerodynamic/Atmospheric Boundary Layer (AABL) wind tunnel under neutral stability conditions. In addition to measuring the power output performance of DRWT and SRWT systems, static and dynamic wind loads acting on the SRWT and DRWT systems were also investigated. Furthermore, a high resolution PIV system was used for detailed near wake flow field measurements (free-run and phase-locked) so as to quantify the near wake turbulent flow structures and observe the transient behavior of the unsteady vortex structures in the wake of DRWT and SRWT systems. In the light of the promising experimental results on DRWTs, this study can be extended further to investigate the turbulent flow in the far wake of DRWTs and utilize multiple DRWTs in different wind farm operations.
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