A Review of Urban Wind Energy Research: Aerodynamics and Other Challenges

Urban wind energy research is crucial for the success or failure of wind turbines installed in the built environment. Research in this field is fragmented into various research groups working on different topics in isolation with seemingly few efforts of integrating the various fields. This review a...

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Main Authors: Daniel Micallef, Gerard van Bussel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2018-08-01
Series:Energies
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/9/2204
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author Daniel Micallef
Gerard van Bussel
author_facet Daniel Micallef
Gerard van Bussel
author_sort Daniel Micallef
collection DOAJ
description Urban wind energy research is crucial for the success or failure of wind turbines installed in the built environment. Research in this field is fragmented into various research groups working on different topics in isolation with seemingly few efforts of integrating the various fields. This review aims at highlighting the synergies between the various advances, particularly in aerodynamics, but also in other areas. Past and current work has been focused on establishing reliable wind statistics at the site of interest. Advances in building aerodynamics have provided new insight on the local flow occurring at the rotor location. An outlook toward future research and the need to treat the different flow scales in a holistic manner is emphasized given also the recent advances in rotor aerodynamics related to the effect of flow skewness and turbulence. This will shed light on the critical issues that need to be addressed by scientists in order to make urban wind energy viable for decentralized generation. Various other present challenges are discussed briefly including structural aspects, noise emissions, economics and visual impact. Research in this field should be the guidepost for more targeted certification standards, in an effort to regularize the small wind energy market.
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spelling doaj.art-cd7cb4ce40fa4e4ea2d16696b1984be22022-12-22T02:56:41ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732018-08-01119220410.3390/en11092204en11092204A Review of Urban Wind Energy Research: Aerodynamics and Other ChallengesDaniel Micallef0Gerard van Bussel1Department of Environmental Design, Faculty for the Built Environment, University of Malta, 2080 MSD Msida, MaltaAerodynamics, Wind Energy, Flight Performance and Propulsion, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, TU Delft, 2628 CD Delft, The NetherlandsUrban wind energy research is crucial for the success or failure of wind turbines installed in the built environment. Research in this field is fragmented into various research groups working on different topics in isolation with seemingly few efforts of integrating the various fields. This review aims at highlighting the synergies between the various advances, particularly in aerodynamics, but also in other areas. Past and current work has been focused on establishing reliable wind statistics at the site of interest. Advances in building aerodynamics have provided new insight on the local flow occurring at the rotor location. An outlook toward future research and the need to treat the different flow scales in a holistic manner is emphasized given also the recent advances in rotor aerodynamics related to the effect of flow skewness and turbulence. This will shed light on the critical issues that need to be addressed by scientists in order to make urban wind energy viable for decentralized generation. Various other present challenges are discussed briefly including structural aspects, noise emissions, economics and visual impact. Research in this field should be the guidepost for more targeted certification standards, in an effort to regularize the small wind energy market.http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/9/2204urban wind energywind resourcesmall-scale wind turbineVertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT)Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT)building integrated wind energy
spellingShingle Daniel Micallef
Gerard van Bussel
A Review of Urban Wind Energy Research: Aerodynamics and Other Challenges
Energies
urban wind energy
wind resource
small-scale wind turbine
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT)
Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT)
building integrated wind energy
title A Review of Urban Wind Energy Research: Aerodynamics and Other Challenges
title_full A Review of Urban Wind Energy Research: Aerodynamics and Other Challenges
title_fullStr A Review of Urban Wind Energy Research: Aerodynamics and Other Challenges
title_full_unstemmed A Review of Urban Wind Energy Research: Aerodynamics and Other Challenges
title_short A Review of Urban Wind Energy Research: Aerodynamics and Other Challenges
title_sort review of urban wind energy research aerodynamics and other challenges
topic urban wind energy
wind resource
small-scale wind turbine
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT)
Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT)
building integrated wind energy
url http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/9/2204
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