Influence of Layout on Offshore Wind Farm Efficiency and Wake Characteristics in Turbulent Environments

Mitigating wake effects between wind turbines is crucial for enhancing the overall output power of offshore wind farms. Therefore, optimizing turbine spacing and layout under turbulent conditions is essential. This study employs the NREL-5 MW wind turbine model to investigate the efficiency of a 3 × 3 wind farm. This research focuses on the influence of turbine spacing and layout on wake field distribution and output power characteristics under different turbulence intensities. A key innovation is the application of entropy production theory to quantify energy dissipation and wake recovery, providing a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms in energy losses. This research also introduces fatigue analysis based on the Damage Equivalent Load (DEL) method, revealing that staggered layouts significantly reduce cyclic loads and extend turbine lifespan. The results indicate that modifying the layout is a more effective strategy for enhancing the total power output of the wind farm, which proves to be more effective than altering the turbulence intensity. Specifically, staggered layout I (with a downstream stagger of 1.0 rotor diameter (D)) increases total output power by 28.76% (to 36.84 MW) and causes a 16.38% surge in power when the spacing increases to 5D. Expanding the wind turbine spacing mitigates wake interaction, resulting in a dramatic 59.84% power recovery for downstream wind turbines. The wind turbine’s lifespan is extended as a result of fatigue loads on the root bending moment being substantially reduced by the staggered layout, which alters the wake structure and stress distribution. The entropy production analysis shows that regions with high entropy production are primarily concentrated near the rotor and within the wake shear layer. The energy dissipation is substantially reduced in the case of staggered layout. These findings provide valuable guidance for the aerodynamic optimization and long-term operation design of large-scale wind farms, contributing to improved energy efficiency and reduced maintenance costs.