applications ➤
(which is easier to debug and maintain) and deployed direct to embedded systems. Systems within ZephIR that would previously have required careful optimisation on dedicated hardware such as FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays) are increasingly being written at higher levels and being run on more generic CPUs,’ Cage added. Te move to third-party web-based solutions
has also had further repercussions for engineers, as Gow explained: ‘We use less and less desktop- based tools, and more and more web-based (or generically client-server) tools, so the computers that engineers use are gradually being loaded less severely. Tis trend also enables us to provide laptops to engineers as their primary computer, thus giving our staff increased flexibility with regard to where and when they do their work.’
Teaching an old dog new tricks Te technology of traditional wind turbines is also evolving in terms of the design and efficiency of offshore wind farms. Tere are a variety of interesting projects beginning to explore this space and one such project is the Simulated Wake Effects Platform for Turbines (SWEPT2) project, which aims to improve the way that the wakes of turbines are modelling and the efficiency of offshore wind farms. Te Centre for Modelling and Simulation (CFMS), a Bristol-based simulation and modelling specialist, will work to establish the viability of GPU-based fluid dynamics modelling, which is a faster, cheaper and more scalable alternative to traditional soſtware solutions. Tis means that the offshore wind farm
industry will be able to design larger turbines as well as larger arrays of turbines, and better predict wind farm failure. Such improvements will lead to reduced financing costs and allow lower carbon emissions, better designed wind farm layouts and cheaper environmentally friendly electricity.
Assembling an RNRG wind vane Such projects are part of the wider picture
when it comes to improving the existing wind mast technology and its profitability, as Standingford explained: ‘GPUs are highly parallel extremes of a trend towards many-core CPUs, where massive processing power is available at lower clock speeds (and hence lower energy) – allowing cost savings for large-scale simulation.’
Closing the gap Te wind power sector faces many challenges in terms of the increasing cost and scalability of its soſtware. More powerful simulations, more flexibility, more scalability and higher fidelity simulations are all clearly needed. Tere is no one correct way to proceed and
all the technologies currently being used or investigated will play a part, as Standingford told Scientific Computing World: ‘A combination of Lidar, or other such remote sensing technologies, with pre-existing and new modelling and simulation tools present a good opportunity for
the wind power sector. A fusion of the two could improve profitability.’ ‘Lidar could, for example, be used to tune
modelling parameters for the design of future turbine arrays, or leverage continual mast monitoring to provide updates to maintenance schedules or control strategies,’ he added. Tis move to results in real time or, at the
very least, minimal development cycles is highly achievable, as Cage explained: ‘As computing power increases, higher level languages advance
THERE IS NO ONE CORRECT WAY TO PROCEED
and device connectivity improves, I think the gap between modelling and deployed solutions will continue to decrease. At the same time, the level and complexity of testing will increase leading to even more capable and reliable systems. You might find yourself coding new improvements or changes to algorithms and models and see the results appearing in another display in real time, reducing the development cycle to the barest minimum.’ It is unclear what the final physical system
will look like within the wind power industry. No one can predict whether this hardware will involve a met mast system, Lidar system, hybrid between the two or some, as yet, completely novel technical incarnation. It is clear that the soſtware running behind the
Inside the RNRG manufacturing facility in Hinesburg, Vermont, USA 30 SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING WORLD
scenes will play a big part in the future of the wind power industry. Real-time views of the health and functionality of a wind power system will be demanded by customers. Te soſtware will be both the enabler and the looking glass through which the industry and their customers will see and judge these investments. l
@scwmagazine l
www.scientific-computing.com
Renewable NRG Systems
Renewable NRG Systems
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