As wind farms continue to take up more land throughout Northern Europe, developers are looking to sparsely populated areas, particularly in northern Fennoscandia, which hosts strong winds but also mixed and patchy forests over complex terrain. The complexity makes wind resource assessments difficult, raising uncertainty and therefore cost. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has the potential to increase the accuracy and reliability of wind models, but the most common form of commercial CFD modeling, Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS), makes limiting assumptions about the effect of the forest on the wind. The wind resource assessment and energy estimation tool WindSim® , developed by WindSim AS, utilizes a porous medium model of a homogeneous forest with the influence of the forest on the airflow as a drag force term in the momentum equations. This method has provided reliable wind speed results but has been less reliable in estimating turbulence characteristics. The measure we evaluate in this study is turbulence intensity (TI). In this investigation, we make two types of modifications to the model and evaluate their impact on the TI estimates by using a benchmark data set collected by Meroney [1]. The first method is a variable profile of leaf area index (LAI) to represent the physical shape of the forest more accurately, and the second is a series of modifications to the closure coefficients in the turbulence transport equations. These modifications focus on the work of Lopes et al. [2], who used a large eddy simulation (LES) model to show that the turbulence production terms originally proposed by Green [3], expanded upon by Sanz [4], and widely used in the industry are unnecessary. Our investigations found that the implementation of a variable LAI profile has a small but non-negligible effect and that the elimination of the production terms from the turbulence transport equations does lead to a significant reduction in TI immediately above the forest. Both methods have minor effects on wind speed estimates, but the modification of closure coefficients has a much more significant impact on the TI. The coefficients proposed by Lopes et al. [2] drastically reduce TI estimates, but the model is still unable to reflect the Meroney data throughout the forest. Continued modification to new closure coefficients in combination with a variable forest LAI and other modifications such as a limited length scale may lead to significant improvement in TI estimates in future models, but these modifications must be compared against real-world data to ensure their applicability.

Much of the planned installation of wind turbines in Sweden will be located in the northern region, characterized by a lower population density so that problems related to sound pollution and visual acceptance are of lower concern. This area is generally distinguished by complex topography and the presence of forest, that significantly affects the wind characteristics, complicating their modelling and simulation. There are concerns about how good an industrial code can simulate a forest, a question of paramount importance in the planning of new onshore farms. As a first step, a sensitivity analysis was initially carried out to investigate the impact on the ow of different boundary conditions and cell discretization inside the forest for a 2D domain with a homogeneous forest. Subsequently, a comparative analysis between the industrial code WindSim and Large Eddy Simulation (LES) data from Segalini. et al. (2016) was performed with the same domain. Lastly, simulations for a real Swedish forest, Ryningsnäs, was conducted to compare a roughness map approach versus modelling the forest as a momentum sink and a turbulence source. All simulations were conducted for neutral stability conditions with the same domain size and refinement. The main conclusions from each part can be summarized as follows. (i) The results from the sensitivity analysis showed that discretization of cells in the vertical direction inside the forest displayed a correlation between an increasing number of cells and a decreased streamwise wind speed above the canopy. (ii) The validation with the LES data displayed good agreement in terms of both horizontal mean wind speed and turbulence intensity. (iii) In terms of horizontal wind speed for Ryningsnäs, forest modelling was prevailing for all wind directions, where the most accurate simulation was found by employing a constant forest force resistive constant (C2) equal to 0.05. All forest models overestimated the turbulence intensity, whereas the roughness map approaches underestimated it. Based solely on the simulations for Ryningsnäas, a correlation between lower streamwise wind speed and higher turbulence intensity can be deduced.

A comparative study of two different approaches in wind energy simulations has been made where the aim was to investigate the performance of two commercially available tools. The study includes the linear model by WAsP and the computational fluid dynamic model of WindSim (also featuring an additional forest module). The case studied is a small wind farm located in the inland of Sweden featuring a fairly complex and forested terrain. The results showed similar estimations from both tools and in some cases an advantage for WindSim. The site terrain is however deemed not complex enough to manifest the potential benefits of using the CFD model. It can be concluded that estimating the energy output in this kind of terrain is done satisfyingly with both tools. WindSim does however show a significant improvement in consistency when estimating the energy output from different measurement heights when using the forest module compared to only using the standardized roughness length.

The aim of this thesis is to assess how the configuration of linear and non-linearwind resource grids impacts the optimization.Three different software tools are used for this study: WAsP (linear model) includedin WindPRO, and WindSim (a non-linear model) - a CFD tool, and WindPRO forthe optimization. With the same configuration for wind resources, WAsP andWindSim will run to calculate the wind resource grids, .rsf or .wrg format, whichwill be compared in the post processing tab of WindPRO (from CFD interface).Using different optimization algorithms, the results from two software will becompared. The test site is flat terrain in the sea with no complexity (0,0002roughness and no orography or obstacle), and the chosen turbine here is Enercon40.3 (55m hub height, with the rated power at 14 m/s), and the wind is coming fromone direction, in our case North, which means sector 0.After comparison of the resource files from linear and non-linear wind resourcegrids, the optimization and comparison is ran for the two wind resource grids (linearand non-linear). The results of the optimization are also compared with optimizationresults of Eftun Yilmaz’s thesis (Eftun Yilmaz, 2013). We can see from the resultsthat WindSim gives almost 40% bigger values for the production. The results arecomparable with findings of Eftun Yilmaz thesis.

O presente trabalho apresenta a modelagem do escoamento de ar sobre um terreno complexo empregando, e comparando os resultados, três programas comerciais de previsão de potencial eólico, WaSP, Meteodyn WT e WindSim. Por se tratar de um modelo simplificado, o programa WaSP nem sempre é adequado para previsão de energia em terrenos muito complexos pois não é capaz de prever turbulência, separação de escoamento e efeitos de estabilidade existentes neste tipo de terreno. Para que se consiga modelar a turbulência existente de maneira mais coerente, utilizam-se programas de mecânica dos fluidos computacional como o Meteodyn WT e o WindSim que modelam o escoamento através das equações médias de Reynolds. A finalidade do estudo é identificar a capacidade de previsão das velocidades de vento por meio de cada um dos programas em um parque eólico localizado na Chapada da Diamantina, tendo em vista que a correta previsão da produção de energia depende de um entendimento correto e detalhado dos recursos disponíveis. Avaliando apenas condição atmosférica neutra e comparando os resultados obtidos, conclui-se que o programa WindSim obteve o menor erro na estimativa da velocidade do vento, -3,7% quando comparado aos outros programas WaSP e Meteodyn, -5,1% e -6,5% respectivamente. O maior erro de aproximação foi obtido pelo programa WaSP, +11% quando comparado aos outros programas Meteodyn e WindSim, +10,6% e +7,9% respectivamente. Para o programa Meteodyn foram avaliados casos com diferentes condições de estabilidade, o erro máximo e mínimo foi de +10,6% e -6,5%, respectivamente em atmosfera estável, mantendo-se elevado. O programa WindSim permite a alteração de variáveis que são fixas no Meteodyn e também a simulação dos efeitos de estabilidade através da inclusão da equação de energia inicializada através do comprimento de Monin-Obukhov o que, implicou em uma melhora significativa nos resultados obtidos e em um maior tempo computacional. O erro, menor e maior, apresentado pelo programa WindSim foi reduzido a, -1,8% e +4,4% respectivamente. Destaca-se que as conclusões obtidas se aplicam ao caso estudado. / This work studies the air flow modeling over a complex terrain using and comparing the results of three commercial programs that estimates the wind field in a site: WaSP, Meteodyn WT and WindSim. Being WAsP a simplified model, it is not always suitable to estimate the flow in complex terrain because it is not able to predict the turbulence, flow separations and stability effects present in these kind of terrains. To model the existing turbulence two computational fluid mechanics programs i.e. Meteodyn WT and WindSim, which models the flow through the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equations have been used. This study aims to identify the wind speed predictive capacity of each program in a windfarm located on Chapada da Diamantina, as a correct production prediction depends on a correct estimation of the wind field. Evaluating only neutral atmospheric setup and comparing it with the measures, WindSim had the lowest wind speed estimation error, -3.7% compared with WaSP and Meteodyn programs, that provided -5.1% and -6.5% respectively. The greatest error was obtained by WaSP program, +11%, followed by Meteodyn, +10.6% and WindSim, +7.9%. WindSim enables changes in some variables that are fixed in Meteodyn and enables also the simulation of stability effects through the introduction of the energy equation with a Monin-Obukhov length initialization. For Meteodyn program different stabilities were evaluated, but the results obtained were not satisfactory. The maximum and minimum error were reduced to +10.6% and -6.5%, respectively, in stable atmosphere. Due to the specific site studied conditions the simulation of stability effects resulted in a significant improvement in the results even though a larger computational time. Enabling the energy equations setting up stable atmospheric stability, both WindSim errors are reduced to -1.8% and +4.4% respectively. It is noteworthy that the conclusions apply to the case studied.

O presente trabalho apresenta a modelagem do escoamento de ar sobre um terreno complexo empregando, e comparando os resultados, três programas comerciais de previsão de potencial eólico, WaSP, Meteodyn WT e WindSim. Por se tratar de um modelo simplificado, o programa WaSP nem sempre é adequado para previsão de energia em terrenos muito complexos pois não é capaz de prever turbulência, separação de escoamento e efeitos de estabilidade existentes neste tipo de terreno. Para que se consiga modelar a turbulência existente de maneira mais coerente, utilizam-se programas de mecânica dos fluidos computacional como o Meteodyn WT e o WindSim que modelam o escoamento através das equações médias de Reynolds. A finalidade do estudo é identificar a capacidade de previsão das velocidades de vento por meio de cada um dos programas em um parque eólico localizado na Chapada da Diamantina, tendo em vista que a correta previsão da produção de energia depende de um entendimento correto e detalhado dos recursos disponíveis. Avaliando apenas condição atmosférica neutra e comparando os resultados obtidos, conclui-se que o programa WindSim obteve o menor erro na estimativa da velocidade do vento, -3,7% quando comparado aos outros programas WaSP e Meteodyn, -5,1% e -6,5% respectivamente. O maior erro de aproximação foi obtido pelo programa WaSP, +11% quando comparado aos outros programas Meteodyn e WindSim, +10,6% e +7,9% respectivamente. Para o programa Meteodyn foram avaliados casos com diferentes condições de estabilidade, o erro máximo e mínimo foi de +10,6% e -6,5%, respectivamente em atmosfera estável, mantendo-se elevado. O programa WindSim permite a alteração de variáveis que são fixas no Meteodyn e também a simulação dos efeitos de estabilidade através da inclusão da equação de energia inicializada através do comprimento de Monin-Obukhov o que, implicou em uma melhora significativa nos resultados obtidos e em um maior tempo computacional. O erro, menor e maior, apresentado pelo programa WindSim foi reduzido a, -1,8% e +4,4% respectivamente. Destaca-se que as conclusões obtidas se aplicam ao caso estudado. / This work studies the air flow modeling over a complex terrain using and comparing the results of three commercial programs that estimates the wind field in a site: WaSP, Meteodyn WT and WindSim. Being WAsP a simplified model, it is not always suitable to estimate the flow in complex terrain because it is not able to predict the turbulence, flow separations and stability effects present in these kind of terrains. To model the existing turbulence two computational fluid mechanics programs i.e. Meteodyn WT and WindSim, which models the flow through the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equations have been used. This study aims to identify the wind speed predictive capacity of each program in a windfarm located on Chapada da Diamantina, as a correct production prediction depends on a correct estimation of the wind field. Evaluating only neutral atmospheric setup and comparing it with the measures, WindSim had the lowest wind speed estimation error, -3.7% compared with WaSP and Meteodyn programs, that provided -5.1% and -6.5% respectively. The greatest error was obtained by WaSP program, +11%, followed by Meteodyn, +10.6% and WindSim, +7.9%. WindSim enables changes in some variables that are fixed in Meteodyn and enables also the simulation of stability effects through the introduction of the energy equation with a Monin-Obukhov length initialization. For Meteodyn program different stabilities were evaluated, but the results obtained were not satisfactory. The maximum and minimum error were reduced to +10.6% and -6.5%, respectively, in stable atmosphere. Due to the specific site studied conditions the simulation of stability effects resulted in a significant improvement in the results even though a larger computational time. Enabling the energy equations setting up stable atmospheric stability, both WindSim errors are reduced to -1.8% and +4.4% respectively. It is noteworthy that the conclusions apply to the case studied.

O presente trabalho apresenta a modelagem do escoamento de ar sobre um terreno complexo empregando, e comparando os resultados, três programas comerciais de previsão de potencial eólico, WaSP, Meteodyn WT e WindSim. Por se tratar de um modelo simplificado, o programa WaSP nem sempre é adequado para previsão de energia em terrenos muito complexos pois não é capaz de prever turbulência, separação de escoamento e efeitos de estabilidade existentes neste tipo de terreno. Para que se consiga modelar a turbulência existente de maneira mais coerente, utilizam-se programas de mecânica dos fluidos computacional como o Meteodyn WT e o WindSim que modelam o escoamento através das equações médias de Reynolds. A finalidade do estudo é identificar a capacidade de previsão das velocidades de vento por meio de cada um dos programas em um parque eólico localizado na Chapada da Diamantina, tendo em vista que a correta previsão da produção de energia depende de um entendimento correto e detalhado dos recursos disponíveis. Avaliando apenas condição atmosférica neutra e comparando os resultados obtidos, conclui-se que o programa WindSim obteve o menor erro na estimativa da velocidade do vento, -3,7% quando comparado aos outros programas WaSP e Meteodyn, -5,1% e -6,5% respectivamente. O maior erro de aproximação foi obtido pelo programa WaSP, +11% quando comparado aos outros programas Meteodyn e WindSim, +10,6% e +7,9% respectivamente. Para o programa Meteodyn foram avaliados casos com diferentes condições de estabilidade, o erro máximo e mínimo foi de +10,6% e -6,5%, respectivamente em atmosfera estável, mantendo-se elevado. O programa WindSim permite a alteração de variáveis que são fixas no Meteodyn e também a simulação dos efeitos de estabilidade através da inclusão da equação de energia inicializada através do comprimento de Monin-Obukhov o que, implicou em uma melhora significativa nos resultados obtidos e em um maior tempo computacional. O erro, menor e maior, apresentado pelo programa WindSim foi reduzido a, -1,8% e +4,4% respectivamente. Destaca-se que as conclusões obtidas se aplicam ao caso estudado. / This work studies the air flow modeling over a complex terrain using and comparing the results of three commercial programs that estimates the wind field in a site: WaSP, Meteodyn WT and WindSim. Being WAsP a simplified model, it is not always suitable to estimate the flow in complex terrain because it is not able to predict the turbulence, flow separations and stability effects present in these kind of terrains. To model the existing turbulence two computational fluid mechanics programs i.e. Meteodyn WT and WindSim, which models the flow through the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equations have been used. This study aims to identify the wind speed predictive capacity of each program in a windfarm located on Chapada da Diamantina, as a correct production prediction depends on a correct estimation of the wind field. Evaluating only neutral atmospheric setup and comparing it with the measures, WindSim had the lowest wind speed estimation error, -3.7% compared with WaSP and Meteodyn programs, that provided -5.1% and -6.5% respectively. The greatest error was obtained by WaSP program, +11%, followed by Meteodyn, +10.6% and WindSim, +7.9%. WindSim enables changes in some variables that are fixed in Meteodyn and enables also the simulation of stability effects through the introduction of the energy equation with a Monin-Obukhov length initialization. For Meteodyn program different stabilities were evaluated, but the results obtained were not satisfactory. The maximum and minimum error were reduced to +10.6% and -6.5%, respectively, in stable atmosphere. Due to the specific site studied conditions the simulation of stability effects resulted in a significant improvement in the results even though a larger computational time. Enabling the energy equations setting up stable atmospheric stability, both WindSim errors are reduced to -1.8% and +4.4% respectively. It is noteworthy that the conclusions apply to the case studied.

The New European Wind Atlas (NEWA) was developed with an aim to provide high accuracy wind climate data for the region of EU and Turkey. Wind industry always seek for solid performance in wind resource assessment, and it is highly affected by the quality of modelled data. The aim of this study is to validate the newly developed wind atlas for two onshore sites in Sweden. Wind resource assessment is conducted using NEWA mesoscale data as wind condition of the sites. AEP estimation is performed using two different simulation tools, and the results of estimation are compared to the actual SCADA data for the validation of NEWA. During the process of simulation, downscaling is executed for the mesoscale data to reflect micro terrain effects. The result of the current study showed that NEWA mesoscale data represents wind climate very well for the onshore site with simple terrain. On the other hand, NEWA provided overestimated wind speeds for the relatively complex onshore site with forested areas. The overestimation of wind speed led to predict AEP significantly higher than the measurements. The result of downscaling showed only little difference to the original data, which can be explained by the sites’ low orographic complexity. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of NEWA and provides insights into its validity for onshore sites. It is beyond the scope of this study to investigate whole region covered by NEWA. A further study focusing on sites with higher orographic complexity or with cold climate is recommended to achieve further understanding of NEWA.

Wind farms are costly projects and prior to the construction, comprehensive wind resource assessment processes are carried out in order to predict the future energy yield with a reliable accuracy. These estimations are made to constitute a basis for the financial assessment of the project. However, predicting the future always accommodates some uncertainties and sometimes these assessments might overestimate the production. Many different factors might account for a discrepancy between the pre-construction wind resource assessment and the operational production data. This thesis investigates an underperforming wind farm in order to ascertain the reasons of a discrepancy case. To investigate the case, the relevant data and information along with the actual production data of three years are shared with the author. Prior to the construction, a wind resource assessment was carried out by an independent wind consultancy company and the work overestimated the annual energy production (AEP) by 19.1% based on the average production value of available three years. An extensive literature review is performed to identify the possible contributing causes of the discrepancy. The data provided is investigated and a new wind resource assessment is carried out. The underestimation of the wind farm losses are studied extensively as a potential reason of the underperformance. For the AEP estimations, WAsP in WindPro interface and WindSim are employed. The use of WindSim led to about 2-2.5% less AEP estimations compared to the results of WAsP. In order to evaluate the influence of long term correlations on the AEP estimations, the climatology datasets are created using the two different reanalysis datasets (MERRA and CFSR-E) as long term references. WindSim results based on the climatology data obtained using the MERRA and CFSR-E datasets as long term references overestimated the results by 10.9% and 8.2% respectively.

This paper sets out to analyze the observed wake effect at Block Island Wind Farm. A comparison is made between several wake simulation methods and the observed data at Block Island using analytic and CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) modelling methods.  The observed wake results at Block Island show a similar trend evident in earlier papers- a large power deficit found between the first two Wind Turbine Generators (WTGs) in the row followed by a slight variation in power along the row for the remainder of the WTGs. A noticeable difference is seen between the last two WTGs in the row where an increase in power is found. This increase in power is thought to be due to the alignment of the wind farm. Nevertheless, when the observed data is compared with the modeled results, the observed data seem to underestimate the wake effect due to misalignment issue with the nacelle wind direction measurement. A sensitivity analysis is conducted on the Wake Decay Constant (WDC) and Turbulence Intensity (TI) values. The results show a maximum power variation of ≈30% between a WDC value of 0.07 and 0.04 and ≈18% for TI values between 8% and 14%. The findings show that a value in the higher range of the examined WDC (0.06 and 0.07) and TI (12% and 14%) values represent a better comparison to the observed data. Nevertheless, it is not recommended to alter these parameters to fit the observed data. Furthermore, due to high uncertainty in the data measurements, and hence observed results, a clear conclusion indicating which wake model best represents the wake effect at Block Island cannot be stated.