Atmospheric flows around utility-scale turbines are highly complex and difficult to reproduce using laboratory experiments and simulations. To probe such flows, we developed a field measurement approach using snow-powered flow visualization and super-large-scale particle imaging velocimetry (SLPIV), and have implemented to study the flow field around a 2.5 MW utility-scale wind turbine at our Eolos field station.
This work revealed for the first time several interesting behaviors of atmospheric flows and turbine wake (e.g., interplay among coherent structures, dynamic wake modulation, wake-ground interaction, etc.). These findings have demonstrated that the flows around utility-scale turbines, though highly complex, can be predicted with substantial statistical certainty using existing information from the turbines, providing unique physical insights into the development of advanced turbine control strategies for future wind turbines and farms.
Jiarong Hong is a professor in the departments of Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory at the University of Minnesota. He is also the chief technology officer of Astrin Biosciences, Inc., a tech startup focused on providing personalized cancer diagnostics and treatment solutions, and the founder of another startup, Particle4X, Inc., specialized in developing cutting-edge particle diagnostic techniques for various applications.
He received his B.S. from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2005 and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 2008 and 2011, respectively. After starting his academic career at the University of Minnesota in 2012, he has focused on developing novel flow imaging techniques, known as flowscopes, which allow for the observation of flow and particle movements within the flow at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions across a broad range of disciplines. With these techniques, his work addresses challenging fundamental questions in fluid dynamics and enables research in fields such as oceanography, agriculture, robotics and sensing, microbiology, medical sciences, and material sciences.
He has published more than 100 journal papers and has 17 granted and pending international and US patents. Hong is a recipient of several awards, including the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, and McKnight Land-grant Professorship from the University of Minnesota. His research on wind energy, supercavitation, snow settling, drone-based wildfire characterization and monitoring, Covid-19 transmission, and cancer diagnostics has been widely covered by international media and featured in TV programs.