WHAT IS VENTOS?

Written from the ‘ground up’ for atmospheric flow by dedicated researchers from the University of Porto in Portugal, VENTOS is a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code. Its main purpose is to handle complex wind flow on complex sites due to terrain or forestry. VENTOS has been successfully validated on over more than 4 GW of Client projects worldwide and is operated by our in-house experienced fluid mechanics engineers.

BENEFITS OVER LINEAR MODELS

Linear wind flow prediction models do not take into account all the physics of the flow, for reasons of simplicity and speed. Consequently they are unable to handle complex topography, do not resolve flow recirculations or provide true values of turbulence or inflow angle. VENTOS solves the full time-dependent Navier-Stokes fluid flow equations and thus provides more reliable results than linear models, especially in complex terrain. VENTOS also provides values of turbulence intensity, vertical inflow angle, wind shear and identifies zones of re-circulation.

UNDERSTAND FORESTRY

Forested sites can generate high levels of turbulence and shear. VENTOS includes a validated state-of-the-art canopy model which enables proper understanding of fluid dynamics in the vicinity of forested areas. In particular, it is possible to quantify the impact of forestry growth or forestry management on wind farm energy yield using VENTOS.

OPTIMISE PRODUCTION AND MINIMISE RISK

VENTOS helps you map zones of high turbulence on your site, which is a likely cause of turbine fatigue. It also helps you map zones of high wind shear which affect turbine integrity and identify zones of high inflow angles which affect turbine performance. With this full understanding of site conditions, VENTOS can help optimise production on a site compared to an original site layout, and provides an increased ‘trust factor’ to prospective lenders and turbine suppliers.

CHARACTERIZE COMPLEX FLOW

Complex terrain can induce time-dependant flow patterns, where turbulent features develop and dissipate in a cyclical manner. Time-dependence can be observed at mast locations given an appropriate data sampling rate, without however providing a clear picture of the flow on site. We have successfully used VENTOS to relate observed time-dependant phenomena to model results, including movies which show the flow-evolution on site. This enables time-dependant characterization of areas of large turbulence and recirculation zones and allows proper decisions to be made regarding turbine locations.