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On the Wind Energy Resource above High-Rise Buildings

Author

Listed:
  • Giulio Vita

    (Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale-DIEF, Università degli Studi Firenze, 50139 Firenze, Italy
    Civil Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK)

  • Anina Šarkić-Glumac

    (Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT), University of Luxembourg, L-4364 Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg)

  • Hassan Hemida

    (Civil Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK)

  • Simone Salvadori

    (Dipartimento Energia-DENERG, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino, Italy)

  • Charalampos Baniotopoulos

    (Civil Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK)

Abstract

One of the main challenges of urban wind energy harvesting is the understanding of the flow characteristics where urban wind turbines are to be installed. Among viable locations within the urban environment, high-rise buildings are particularly promising due to the elevated height and relatively undisturbed wind conditions. Most research studies on high-rise buildings deal with the calculation of the wind loads in terms of surface pressure. In the present paper, flow pattern characteristics are investigated for a typical high-rise building in a variety of configurations and wind directions in wind tunnel tests. The aim is to improve the understanding of the wind energy resource in the built environment and give designers meaningful data on the positioning strategy of wind turbines to improve performance. In addition, the study provides suitable and realistic turbulence characteristics to be reproduced in physical or numerical simulations of urban wind turbines for several locations above the roof region of the building. The study showed that at a height of 10 m from the roof surface, the flow resembles atmospheric turbulence with an enhanced turbulence intensity above 10% combined with large length scales of about 200 m. Results also showed that high-rise buildings in clusters might provide a very suitable configuration for the installation of urban wind turbines, although there is a strong difference between the performance of a wind turbine installed at the centre of the roof and one installed on the leeward and windward corners or edges, depending on the wind direction.

Suggested Citation

  • Giulio Vita & Anina Šarkić-Glumac & Hassan Hemida & Simone Salvadori & Charalampos Baniotopoulos, 2020. "On the Wind Energy Resource above High-Rise Buildings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-23, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:14:p:3641-:d:384696
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. KC, Anup & Whale, Jonathan & Urmee, Tania, 2019. "Urban wind conditions and small wind turbines in the built environment: A review," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 268-283.
    2. Pagnini, Luisa C. & Burlando, Massimiliano & Repetto, Maria Pia, 2015. "Experimental power curve of small-size wind turbines in turbulent urban environment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 112-121.
    3. Daniel Micallef & Gerard Van Bussel, 2018. "A Review of Urban Wind Energy Research: Aerodynamics and Other Challenges," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-27, August.
    4. Lu, Lin & Ip, Ka Yan, 2009. "Investigation on the feasibility and enhancement methods of wind power utilization in high-rise buildings of Hong Kong," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 450-461, February.
    5. Grant, Andrew & Johnstone, Cameron & Kelly, Nick, 2008. "Urban wind energy conversion: The potential of ducted turbines," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 1157-1163.
    6. Abohela, Islam & Hamza, Neveen & Dudek, Steven, 2013. "Effect of roof shape, wind direction, building height and urban configuration on the energy yield and positioning of roof mounted wind turbines," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 1106-1118.
    7. Balduzzi, Francesco & Bianchini, Alessandro & Carnevale, Ennio Antonio & Ferrari, Lorenzo & Magnani, Sandro, 2012. "Feasibility analysis of a Darrieus vertical-axis wind turbine installation in the rooftop of a building," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 921-929.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ewa Chomać-Pierzecka & Anna Sobczak & Dariusz Soboń, 2022. "Wind Energy Market in Poland in the Background of the Baltic Sea Bordering Countries in the Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-21, March.
    2. Justyna Zalewska & Krzysztof Damaziak & Jerzy Malachowski, 2021. "An Energy Efficiency Estimation Procedure for Small Wind Turbines at Chosen Locations in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-18, June.
    3. Luca Salvadori & Annalisa Di Bernardino & Giorgio Querzoli & Simone Ferrari, 2021. "A Novel Automatic Method for the Urban Canyon Parametrization Needed by Turbulence Numerical Simulations for Wind Energy Potential Assessment," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-22, August.
    4. Yusheng Sun & Yaqian Zhao & Zhifeng Dou & Yanyan Li & Leilei Guo, 2020. "Model Predictive Virtual Synchronous Control of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator-Based Wind Power System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-14, September.
    5. Giulio Vita & Syeda Anam Hashmi & Simone Salvadori & Hassan Hemida & Charalampos Baniotopoulos, 2020. "Role of Inflow Turbulence and Surrounding Buildings on Large Eddy Simulations of Urban Wind Energy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-22, October.

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