This paper describes the results of a wind tunnel simulation to examine the effect of crosswind spacing on wake interaction in a wind energy power plant. Using tea strainer models of wind turbines and a simulated boundry layer in the 4 ft. by 4 ft. open jet wind tunnel at the University of Massachusetts, smoke visualization and pitot tube traverse studies were conducted to examine the behavior of downstream wakes for alternative crosswind spacing distances. It is shown that a crosswind spacing of 2.5 blade diameters or less results in a combined wake with a maximum velocity deficit that occurs downstream from the mid-point of the two turbines. It is also shown that a crosswind spacing of more than 2.5 diameters produces two distinct wakes with the maximum velocity deficit downstream from each turbine. In addition, the paper also provides a description of the methods used to construct the wind turbine models and to create, using honeycomb material, a boundary layer in the wind tunnel. The use of a computer software package to digitize images from a video tape of the smoke as it flows through the turbines is also described.
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