Detection of turbulence aloft by infrasonic wind noise measurements on the ground

Wind turbines can be damaged by the inflow of high amplitude wind turbulence. The goal of this project is to determine if potentially damaging turbulent structures at hub height can be detected by infrasonic wind noise measurements at the ground. A large eddy simulation is used to model the atmospheric turbulence structures of interest and the resulting pressure fluctuations on the ground. Preliminary studies of the relationship between the time development of the pressure structures on the ground and the velocity fluctuations in the atmosphere will be described. If elevated turbulent structures can be detected on the ground, the predictions will be used to design an optimized pressure sensing array for experimental tests.