Support Structure Modelling in Actuator Line Method Large Eddy Simulations of Wind Turbine Wakes

ABSTRACT While advancements in the prediction of wind turbine loads and wakes within the actuator line method large eddy simulation (ALM‐LES) framework have been an active research topic in recent years, the modelling of the tower and nacelle has received comparatively less attention. This paper investigates different numerical modelling methods for the representation of the support structure and discusses the implications and trade‐offs associated with each method. Three support structure modelling approaches are investigated: explicitly meshing the support structure, a direct forcing meshless representation and a combination of actuator disc/line method for the representation of the nacelle/tower. All methods contribute to a more realistic representation of the near wake mean flow when compared with experimental measurements. In the measured far wake, the interaction between the tower and rotor wakes creates asymmetries in the mean flow profiles. The meshed and cell‐blocking numerical representations are capable of replicating these far wake asymmetries, whereas the actuator line/disc method does not capture these features.