Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Flow Modelling

CFD is a well established computational tool that can be used to provide tangible benefits to a range of renewable energy applications, including wind and wave & tidal applications. 

SgurrEnergy provides modelling services appropriate for these applications. For more information, download the SgurrEnergy CFD capability brochure (659Kb).

Wind Flow Modelling

Historically, wind farms have been built in open areas, but recently more and more wind farms are being built in regions of complex topography and forestry which cannot be properly modelled by current industry standard wind modelling software.  This increased site complexity not only affects the wind farm energy yield and uncertainties but also the load on the wind turbines, which will in turn influence the revenues and maintenance costs related to an operational wind farm at that site. 

CFD can provide a detailed understanding of the effect of the complex site surroundings on the wind regime.  Verification of all SgurrEnergy computational models is an integral part of every analysis process and is used to ascertain the quality of the model and estimate model error.

SgurrEnergy has extensive experience in dealing with forestry influenced wind regimes having assessed over 1000MW of wind farm developments in such wind climates and has provided technical advice to Forestry Commission Wales, ScottishPower, Airtricity, Scottish & Southern, npower Renewables, Your Energy Ltd, Novera Energy and many others.  

SgurrEnergy is able to offer the powerful combination of Galion Lidar wind monitoring capability and CFD wind flow modelling to provide a methodology that is able to fully examine even the most complex wind farm surroundings:

• Complex topography
• Forested sites
• Wake analysis to optimise wind farm layout

SgurrEnergy are currently working in partnership with Ansys, RWE Npower Renewables and ScottishPower Renewables on a Carbon Trust project to develop improved and validated computational flow models for wind farms in complex terrain. Read more about this project by clicking here.

Wave & Tidal Applications

CFD can play an important role in assessment of wave and tidal technologies and projects.   For example, CFD modelling can be used for the following tidal energy applications:

• Tidal stream resource assessment
• Optimisation of tidal array design and configuration
• Assessment of tidal turbine influence on fluid flow environment and energy extraction
• Examination of tidal turbine blade loading effect

As with wind flow modelling, SgurrEnergy validates all computational models with available measured data.

 

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