Researchers from TU Delft and UBC Okanagan have used large-scale simulations to develop a modeling framework that can improve wind energy forecasts and productivity and tackle the problem of overestimation. Tosca, an innovative modeling framework based on data processed in a supercomputer, can help the wind industry better understand the impact of wind farms on wind power.
The study, titled 'Tosca – an open-source, finite-volume, large-eddy simulation (LES) environment for wind farm flows' , built on existing research by putting new models into a supercomputer. The study looked at the interaction of both typical wind farms and a theoretical 'infinite' wind farm with different wind conditions.
To design
Wind farms are becoming so large that they can actually change the structure of the incoming wind. The new framework clearly describes how wind farms affect the atmospheric boundary layer, which is valuable to engineers when designing more effective wind farms.
Blockade
Important in the research was how large wind farms caused a 'blockade' of the wind, reducing energy production. The Tosca framework, developed with more than 10,000 processors, provides more accurate predictions and can help reduce overestimation in the wind industry. The Tosca framework can contribute to more accurate forecasts, limiting financial losses.
According to the researchers, the results of this research will lead to a better understanding of the energy capacity that can be achieved by wind farms and an increase in their energy production.
The study was published in Wind Energy Science.
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