GPU-Accelerated Actuator-Disk Large-Eddy Simulation for Wind Farm Flows

The power production of a wind farm depends on complex interactions between the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), the wind turbines and their wakes. These interactions can be captured with accuracy and at a reasonable cost using an Actuator-Disk Large-Eddy Simulation (AD-LES) approach [1] where the most energetic scales of the ABL are resolved while wind turbines are modelled by volume forces. The present study shows that this approach can be used with GPU-acceleration to simulate an entire wind farm at a reasonable turnaround time. To do so, the AD model has been implemented for GPU architectures in the CERFACS’ LES solver AVBP [2], the approach being then validated on the Horns Rev wind farm configuration in neutral atmospheric boundary layer [3]. Good agreement is found between field measurements and numerical predictions. In addition, the LES flow field is used to assess wake models and investigate various wake superposition laws to better understand their effect on the power prediction.