Oldenburg. “Wind Energy and the Impact of Turbulence on the Conversion Process” (Wind Energy and the Impact of Turbulence on the Conversion Process) – this is the title of the EUROMECH Colloquium 528, which is taking place at the University of Oldenburg from 22 to 24 February. ForWind, the Wind Energy Research Centre at the Universities of Oldenburg, Hanover and Bremen, is organising the conference, which is expected to attract more than 80 experts from 17 countries. The conference is held under the patronage of the European Mechanics Society (EUROMECH), an international, non-profit scientific society that supports the development of mechanics in the fields of natural sciences and engineering in Europe. The scientific directors of the conference are Prof. Dr Joachim Peinke, a physicist from Oldenburg and member of the ForWind Executive Board, and Prof. Dr Stefan Ivanell, a professor of energy technology at the Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden). Turbulence is an everyday phenomenon, but it is very difficult to calculate, explains Peinke. “Turbulence has been little researched, particularly in the field of wind energy. The latest research findings are largely ignored by the wind energy industry. The conference brings this issue into focus and links turbulence research with the rapidly growing wind energy sector,” says the scientist.

Turbulence, and gustiness in particular, is characterised by fluctuating wind conditions on small, medium and large scales. As a result, wind turbines are exposed to up to 100 million gusts over a 20-year operational lifespan – and this poses extreme challenges for both technology and materials. The international team of scientists is therefore investigating questions relating to aerodynamics, meteorology and the fundamental nature of turbulence in atmospheric wind fields. They are also investigating how turbulence around rotor blades can be influenced and controlled, and how material fatigue caused by alternating loads on wind turbines can be detected at an early stage.

Other topics at the conference include the flow conditions around individual wind turbines and their interactions within large offshore wind farms, such as those constructed in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. The experts will present the latest research findings on laser-optical measurement techniques (e.g. MultiLIDAR), which can be used to investigate wind flows, vortices and shadowing effects caused by wind turbines, and will discuss simulation models of wind flow conditions in complex terrain.

The keynote lecture will be delivered by Prof. Dr Peter Tavner, Professor of New & Renewable Energy and Head of the School of Engineering at Durham University, on Wednesday 22 February at 9.00 am. Tavner is the current President of the European Academy of Wind Energy (EAWE). In his lecture, Tavner will discuss how turbulence affects the reliability of wind turbines and their components.

Visit the conference website

Contact: Prof. Dr Joachim Peinke, Institute of Physics, Tel.: 0441/798-3536, email:

[13 February 2012]