Performance of Detached Eddy Simulation applied to Analysis of a University Campus Wind Environment

Abstract

This paper investigates the performance of a Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) turbulence modelling approach implemented in the open-source CFD library OpenFOAM to analysis of external flows in urban environments in the context of micro wind turbine applications. For this purpose, we examine the predicted flows at the De Montfort university (DMU) campus in Leicester, UK and make comparisons with high frequency wind data recorded by three ultrasonic anemometers. We find that the CFD results using the DES model are in good agreement with the anemometer data in terms of both relative wind speeds and directions. We conclude that DES offers robustness and accuracy over a range of wind conditions and is well suited to analysis of wind energy potentials in complex urban environments.