Wind field characteristics over hilly and complex terrain in turbulent boundary layers

Abstract This study aims to provide a turbulent inlet generation method for Large Eddy Simulation with the consideration of cross-correlation modification, which can overcome the difficulties in completely meeting the specified turbulent characteristics, spectrum and time-correlation and integrate conveniently with the Spectral Element Method and Finite Volume Method. The proposed method is utilized for simulating turbulent boundary layer flow over two types of three-dimensional hills with different slopes, and then is validated by comparing with the wind tunnel tests. From the results, the proposed turbulent inlet generation method for Large Eddy Simulation can accurately predict the distribution of mean wind velocity and turbulence intensity over hilly terrain, and the Large Eddy Simulation with Spectral Element Method appears more efficient in competition than that with Finite Volume Method. Finally, the proposed method is employed to simulate turbulent boundary layer flow over real terrain in Changsha, China. The wind field characteristics of the target complex terrain are analyzed and discussed, which can be used for the fields of wind farm micro-siting over complex terrain in engineering practice.