scholarly journals Evaluation of the Lattice Boltzmann Method for wind modelling in complex terrain

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain Schubiger ◽  
Sarah Barber ◽  
Henrik Nordborg

Abstract. The worldwide expansion of wind energy is making the choice of potential wind farm locations more and more difficult. This results in an increased number of wind farms being located in complex terrain, which is characterised by flow separation, turbulence and high shear. Accurate modelling of these flow features is key for wind resource assessment in the planning phase, as the exact positioning of the wind turbines has a large effect on their energy production and life time. Wind modelling for wind resource assessments is usually carried out with the linear model WAsP, unless the terrain is complex, in which case Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solvers such as WindSim and ANSYS Fluent are usually applied. Recent research has shown the potential advantages of Large Eddy Simulations (LES) for modelling the atmospheric boundary layer and thermal effects; however, LES is far too computationally expensive to be applied outside the research environment. Another promising approach is the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM), a computational fluid technique based on the Boltzmann transport equation. It is generally used to study complex phenomena such as turbulence, because it describes motion at the microscopic level in contrast to the macroscopic level of conventional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approaches, which solve the Navier-Stokes (N-S) equations. Other advantages of LBM include its efficiency, near ideal scalability on High Performance Computers (HPC) and its ability to easily automate the geometry, the mesh generation and the post-processing of the geometry. However, LBM has not yet been applied to wind modelling in complex terrain for wind energy applications, mainly due to the lack of availability of easy-to-use tools as well as the lack of experience with this technique. In this paper, the capabilities of LBM to model wind flow around complex terrain are investigated using the Palabos framework and data from a measurement campaign from the Bolund Hill experiment in Denmark. Detached Eddy Simulations (DES) and LES in ANSYS Fluent are used as a numerical comparison. The results show that there is in general a good agreement between simulation and experimental data, and LBM performs better than RANS and DES. Some deviations can be observed near the ground, close to the top of cliff and on the lee side of the hill. The computational costs of the three techniques are compared and it has been shown that LBM can perform up to 5 times faster than DES, even though the set-up was not optimised in this initial study. It can be summarised that LBM has a very high potential for modelling wind flow over complex terrain accurately and at relatively low costs, compared to solving the N-S conventionally. Further studies on other sites are ongoing.

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 1507-1519
Author(s):  
Alain Schubiger ◽  
Sarah Barber ◽  
Henrik Nordborg

Abstract. The worldwide expansion of wind energy is making the choice of potential wind farm locations more and more difficult. This results in an increased number of wind farms being located in complex terrain, which is characterised by flow separation, turbulence and high shear. Accurate modelling of these flow features is key for wind resource assessment in the planning phase, as the exact positioning of the wind turbines has a large effect on their energy production and lifetime. Wind modelling for wind resource assessments is usually carried out with the linear model Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Program (WAsP), unless the terrain is complex, in which case Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) solvers such as WindSim and Ansys Fluent are usually applied. Recent research has shown the potential advantages of large-eddy simulation (LES) for modelling the atmospheric boundary layer and thermal effects; however, LES is far too computationally expensive to be applied outside the research environment. Another promising approach is the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM), a computational fluid technique based on the Boltzmann transport equation. It is generally used to study complex phenomena such as turbulence, because it describes motion at the mesoscopic level in contrast to the macroscopic level of conventional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approaches, which solve the Navier–Stokes (N–S) equations. Other advantages of the LBM include its efficiency; near-ideal scalability on high-performance computers (HPCs); and ability to easily automate the geometry, the mesh generation and the post-processing. However, the LBM has been applied very little to wind modelling in complex terrain for wind energy applications, mainly due to the lack of availability of easy-to-use tools as well as the lack of experience with this technique. In this paper, the capabilities of the LBM to model wind flow around complex terrain are investigated using the Palabos framework and data from a measurement campaign from the Bolund Hill experiment in Denmark. Detached-eddy simulation (DES) and LES in Ansys Fluent are used as a numerical comparison. The results show that there is in general a good agreement between simulation and experimental data, and the LBM performs better than RANS and DES. Some deviations can be observed near the ground, close to the top of the cliff and on the lee side of the hill. The computational costs of the three techniques are compared, and it has been shown that the LBM can perform up to 5 times faster than DES, even though the set-up was not optimised in this initial study. It can be summarised that the LBM has a very high potential for modelling wind flow over complex terrain accurately and at relatively low costs, compared to solving N–S equations conventionally. Further studies on other sites are ongoing.


Author(s):  
Joris C. G. Verschaeve

By means of the continuity equation of the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations, additional physical arguments for the derivation of a formulation of the no-slip boundary condition for the lattice Boltzmann method for straight walls at rest are obtained. This leads to a boundary condition that is second-order accurate with respect to the grid spacing and conserves mass. In addition, the boundary condition is stable for relaxation frequencies close to two.


2014 ◽  
Vol 554 ◽  
pp. 665-669
Author(s):  
Leila Jahanshaloo ◽  
Nor Azwadi Che Sidik

The Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) is a potent numerical technique based on kinetic theory, which has been effectively employed in various complicated physical, chemical and fluid mechanics problems. In this paper multi-relaxation lattice Boltzmann model (MRT) coupled with a Large Eddy Simulation (LES) and the equation are applied for driven cavity flow at different Reynolds number (1000-10000) and the results are compared with the previous published papers which solve the Navier stokes equation directly. The comparisons between the simulated results show that the lattice Boltzmann method has the capacity to solve the complex flows with reasonable accuracy and reliability. Keywords: Two-dimensional flows, Lattice Boltzmann method, Turbulent flow, MRT, LES.


Author(s):  
Felipe A. Valenzuela ◽  
Amador M. Guzmán ◽  
Andrés J. Díaz

During the last years the aerodynamics characteristics of airfoils have been studied solving numerically the Navier-Stokes (NS) equations. These calculations require a significant computational cost due to both the second order and the nonlinear characteristics of the NS partial differential equations. Therefore, efforts have been devoted to reduce this cost and increase the accuracy of the numerical methods. The Lattice-Boltzmann Method (LBM) has become a great alternative to simulate this problem and a variety of fluid flows. In this method, the convective operator is linear and the pressure is calculated directly by the equation of state without implementing iterative methods. This work represents a preliminary investigation of a laminar flow over airfoils under low Reynolds number conditions (Re = 500). Solutions are obtained using a Multi-Block mesh refinement method. In order to validate the computational code, calculations are performed on a SD7003 airfoil at an angle of attack of 4° and 30°, which corresponds to the available numerical and experimental results. The results of this study agree well with previous experimental and numerical studies demonstrating the capabilities of the LBM to simulate accurately laminar flows over airfoils as well as capturing and predicting the laminar separation bubbles.


Author(s):  
Ru Yang ◽  
Chin-Sheng Wang

A Lattice Boltzmann method is employed to investigate the flow characteristics and the heat transfer phenomenon between two parallel plates separated by a micro-gap. A nine-velocity model and an internal energy distribution model are used to obtain the mass, momentum and temperature distributions. It is shown that for small Knudsen numbers (Kn), the current results are in good agreement with those obtained from the traditional Navier-Stokes equation with non-slip boundary conditions. As the value of Kn is increased, it is found that the non-slip condition may no longer be valid at the wall boundary and that the flow behavior changes to one of slip-flow. In slip flow regime, the present results is still in good agreement with slip-flow solution by Navier Stokes equations. The non-linear nature of the pressure and friction distribution for micro-channel flow is gieven. Finally, the current investigation presents a prediction of the temperature distribution for micro-channel flow under the imposed conditions of an isothermal boundary.


2006 ◽  
Vol 128 (4) ◽  
pp. 539-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Prospathopoulos ◽  
Spyros G. Voutsinas

Practical aspects concerning the use of 3D Navier-Stokes solvers as prediction tools for micro-siting of wind energy installations are considered. Micro-siting is an important issue for a successful application of wind energy in sites of complex terrain. There is a constantly increasing interest in using mean wind flow predictions based on Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solvers in order to minimize the number of required field measurements. In this connection, certain numerical aspects, such as the extent of the numerical flow domain, the choice of the appropriate inflow boundary conditions, and the grid resolution, can decisively affect the quality of the predictions. In the present paper, these aspects are analyzed with reference to the Askervein hill data base of full scale measurements. The objective of the work is to provide guidelines with respect to the definition of appropriate boundary conditions and the construction of an adequate and effective computational grid when a RANS solver is implemented. In particular, it is concluded that (a) the ground roughness affects the predictions significantly, (b) the computational domain should have an extent permitting the full development of the flow before entering the region of interest, and (c) the quality of the predictions at the local altitude maxima depends on the grid density in the main flow direction.


Author(s):  
KUN QU ◽  
CHANG SHU ◽  
JINSHENG CAI

In this paper, a new flux solver was developed based on a lattice Boltzmann model. Different from solving discrete velocity Boltzmann equation and lattice Boltzmann equation, Euler/Navier-Stokes (NS) equations were solved in this approach, and the flux at the interface was evaluated with a compressible lattice Boltzmann model. This method combined lattice Boltzmann method with finite volume method to solve Euler/NS equations. The proposed approach was validated by some simulations of one-dimensional and multi-dimensional problems.


Respati ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumara Ari Yuana

 INTISARIKomputasi dan eksperimental dalam dunia teknik permesinan (mechanical engineer) merupakan bidang yang saling melengkapi. Komputasi dilakukan untuk memberikan gambaran dan penjelasan rasional dari fenomena yang dihasilkan pada eksperimen. Komputasi juga memberikan prediksi sebelum dilakukan eksperimen untuk lebih mematangkan kondisi-kondisi dari sebuah eksperimen. Komputasi dengan metode Lattice Boltzmann adalah metode yang relatif baru dan menjanjikan di dunia komputasi aliran fluida atau CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics), sebagai alternative metode yang sudah lama dikembangkan dari persamaan kontunum Navier-Stokes. Metode Lattice Boltzmann berangkat dari logika interaksi sekumpulan partikel dan ditelusuri pola interaksinya melalui bantuan pola jaringan (lattice). Pada riset ini akan digunakan metode Lattice Boltzmann untuk membuat model matematis dan algoritmanya pad aliran fluida yang mengalir di sekitar External Ballistics model G1-Standard-Bullet. Tahap riset selanjutnya adalah pengembangan pembuatan coding pemrograman dan simulasi visual untuk mengetahui pola aliran dan analisis-analisis aerodinamisnya. ABSTRACTComputational and experimental in the world of mechanical engineering is a complementary field and providing a picture and a rational explanation of the phenomena generated from the experiment. Computation with the Lattice Boltzmann method is a relatively new and promising method in the world of fluid flow computation or CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics), as an alternative to the long-established method of the Navier-Stokes continuum equation. The Lattice Boltzmann method departs from the logic of the interaction of a set of particles and traces its interaction pattern through the aid of a network pattern (lattice). In this research we will use the Lattice Boltzmann method to create a mathematical model and algorithm for the flow of fluid flowing around External Ballistics model G1-Standard-Bullet. The next stage of research is developing the development of coding programming and visual simulation to know the flow pattern and aerodynamic analysis.


2015 ◽  
Vol 799-800 ◽  
pp. 784-787
Author(s):  
Wen Qin Liu ◽  
Yong Li

The main objective of this work is to develop a new approach based on the Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) to simulate the extrudate swell of an Oldroyd B viscoelatic fluid. Two lattice Boltzmann equations are used to solve the Navier-Stokes equations and constitutive equation simultaneously at each time iteration. The single LBM model is used to track the moving interface in this paper. To validate the accuracy and stability of this new scheme, we study the steady 2D Poiseuille flow firstly, finding the numerical results be in good accord with the analytical solution. Then the die-swell phenomenon is solved, we successfully acquire the different swelling state of an Oldroyd B fluid at different time.


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