An Attempt to Characterize the Structure of Wake Turbulence Using a Combined Experimental and Numerical Approach

This paper describes a combined numerical and experimental effort to characterize the structure of wake turbulence. The numerical approach is based on detailed LES. The experimental approach is based on an innovative analysis applied on full-scale wake recordings obtained using a newly developed 2D lidar technology. Consistency between the numerical and experimental approaches in terms of wake turbulence characteristics is observed. Compared to conventional atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) turbulence, the wake turbulence is inhomogeneous with reduced length scales, increased intensity, and increased coherence decay.