Intricate urban geometries can generate complex wind patterns that are difficult to predict. Wind assessment tools are expensive in relation to the cost of a small wind turbine project. Additionally, wind resource maps are inappropriate for urban areas. For this reason, there is a strong demand by the wind industry sector for cheaper and accessible wind assessment tools for urban environments. Kliux Energies is a Spanish SME which specialises in the manufacturing and marketing of vertical-axis wind turbines. Its patented turbines require minimal maintenance, make virtually no noise, are bird friendly and have a visual impact which is aesthetically pleasing. For these reasons, these turbines are especially suitable for residential and urban environments: buildings, private homes, cottage accommodation, hotels, walkways, squares and parks.
In this experiment, a Cloud-based, HPC tool is proposed that can provide detailed, high-quality local wind flow fields in urban environments for manufacturers and suppliers of small wind turbines (SWT). This tool will combine two flow simulation technologies on different scales, GIS techniques and data analysis methods to characterize urban wind with a level of fidelity and detail that would be unattainable to SMEs without recourse to on-demand, cloud computing. This application will provide valuable information to SWT manufacturers such as Kliux and will be easily deployed by a non-expert user.
