Validation of a CFD model of wind turbine wakes with terrain effects

•A comprehensive CFD study of modelling wind turbine wakes in complex terrain.•The Virtual Blade model is used along with the Reynolds Stress Model.•Validation with single wake and hillow measurements shows satisfactory results.•The CFD method is validated with wind farm measurements and compared with WAsP.

Wind turbine wakes and the neutral atmospheric wind flow over complex terrain are investigated in this paper using the Computational Fluid Dynamics software Fluent. An actuator disc model based on the Blade Element Theory is implemented for the simulation of the rotor effects. Assuming a 3-D, steady-state flow, the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations are solved, along with the Reynolds Stress Model to account for the anisotropy of atmospheric turbulence. The approach is initially validated with widely documented wake measurements over flat terrain. Additionally, the model of a neutral atmospheric flow over a real hill is validated with full-scale observations. Ultimately, a coastal complex terrain wind farm is examined and results are validated with SCADA measurements and compared with simulations using the wind modelling software WAsP.