Oldenburg. In this year’s recommendation on funding for research facilities at universities, the German Council of Science and Humanities (WR) has endorsed the construction of a new “Research Laboratory for Turbulence and Wind Energy Systems” at the University of Oldenburg. The proposal submitted by the Oldenburg-based researchers, led by wind energy expert Prof. Dr Martin Kühn, turbulence researcher Prof. Dr Joachim Peinke and energy meteorologist Dr Detlev Heinemann, was deemed particularly worthy of funding.

At the heart of the new building – which covers 2,300 square metres, has cost 20 million euros and provides space for over 130 researchers – is a so-called turbulent wind tunnel. In addition, there are laboratories for experiments in the wind tunnel and in the open field. Researchers from the fields of physics, meteorology, oceanography and engineering from the Universities of Oldenburg and Hanover, Jade University of Applied Sciences, the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology (Bremerhaven) and the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organisation (Göttingen) will use the wind tunnel. It is intended to provide precise data on the operational behaviour of wind turbines and large offshore wind farms.

“The University of Oldenburg can significantly strengthen its research into renewable energies thanks to this new research facility. Over the past two years, Oldenburg’s wind energy researchers have been provided with a parallel computing cluster optimised for flow simulations, as well as a laser-optical remote sensing system for three-dimensional flow measurements in wind farms. “In combination with the computing cluster and the remote sensing system, the new turbulent wind tunnel enables highly efficient research – particularly in the field of offshore wind energy,” emphasises University President Prof. Dr Babette Simon.

The expansion of offshore wind energy is one of the key objectives in the German government’s Energy Transition programme. “A major factor behind the rather sluggish expansion to date has been a lack of knowledge regarding the operational behaviour of large offshore wind farms,” explains wind energy expert Kühn. Operational experience from comparatively small onshore wind farms cannot simply be transferred. A precise understanding of the interaction between wind turbines within the turbulent atmospheric flows in an offshore wind farm is essential for their reliable and economical operation.

The turbulent wind tunnel on the Wechloy campus of the University of Oldenburg is intended to address this research gap: the plan is to combine laboratory experiments, field measurements and numerical simulations. The aim of the research is to investigate the interaction between atmospheric turbulence and wind energy systems – that is, wind farms, wind turbines and their components. “Whilst traditional wind tunnel tests – for example in aeronautics – are carried out in flows with particularly low turbulence, we specifically want to investigate the characteristics of real turbulent wind flows. In the wind tunnel, we can reproduce turbulent wind fields. This enables us to conduct experiments on turbulence development on rotor blades, individual model wind turbines or turbines arranged in wind farm configurations,” explains Peinke, a physicist and researcher specialising in turbulence and wind energy. Another research objective is the development of innovative control methods that compensate for turbulence: future turbines will detect gusts at an early stage using laser-optical sensors. By controlling individual turbines in large wind farms, shadowing losses and additional stresses are to be reduced.

“Our research using the wind tunnel can make a significant contribution to increasing the efficiency of wind farms and limiting the technical – and ultimately also financial – risks involved in their construction,” adds Kühn.

As part of the funding scheme for research facilities at universities, the German Council of Science and Humanities, p.p., assesses the states’ proposals for funding for research facilities. Each year, the WR recommends to the Joint Science Conference (GWK) the projects that should be implemented and co-funded by the federal government up to 50 per cent. The decision on whether to include a project in the funding programme rests with the GWK.

[Press release dated 25 May 2012]