Ivy League institution acquires 2 lidars to study turbulence

ZephIR 300, a Continuous Wave (CW) wind lidar provides high resolution measurements at an unmatched data rate of 50Hz - every second, 50 points are measured in the free space targeted by the sensor, and chosen by the user, anywhere from 10 to 200m. This type of CW wind lidar gives very accurate measurements of the wind speed, direction and other characteristics including Turbulence Intensity (TI). The effect of TI on wind turbines is of continual interest as the impact of irregular wind loading can affect both production from the turbine, and also the operating costs of the turbine with increased stresses and strains reducing component life.

The Cornell Wind Team is preparing for an international experiment at the Canadian Wind Energy site on Prince Edward Island.

Professor Rebecca Barthelmie, Croll Fellow, directs the Wind Energy Research Lab at Cornell University, and is a previous winner of the Scientific Award from the European Wind Energy Academy for 'her extraordinary efforts and achievements in the field of wind energy research'. Professor Barthelmie joined Cornell University in 2014. She previously held positions at the Danish Technical University, Edinburgh University and Indiana University. She is author of over 110 journal papers, 330 conference papers and reports and is co-chief editor of the journal Wind Energy.

ZephIR 300 is the single most validated wind lidar at a consistent IEC compliant met mast site and provides wind industry users with DNV GL Stage 3 finance-grade data in benign terrain, Natural Power finance-grade data in complex terrain, hub height wind direction, horizontal and vertical wind speeds and true 1 second, or averaged 10 minute wind data.

The lidars, which need no annual servicing or annual calibration, provide data on vertical wind shear, wind veer (variation of wind direction with height), TI and other turbulence measures.