Research programme
We study how wind farms and the atmosphere exchange momentum, and how turbulence transports heat and energy. We combine large-eddy simulation, direct numerical simulation and physical models. The ERC WINDFLOW project aims to connect wind-farm simulation with changing weather.
Selected contributions · Simulation videos · Recognition and evidence
Wind-farm–atmosphere interaction
Large-eddy simulations resolve how turbine wakes, farm-scale flows, and atmospheric conditions interact across turbine-to-weather scales. This programme treats the atmospheric boundary layer as part of the wind-farm system rather than as a fixed inflow condition.
Explore concurrent-precursor inflow and turbine-to-farm wake recovery for the methods and transport mechanisms behind these simulations.
Wind-farm flow and wakes
High-fidelity LES of how wind-turbine wakes interact, merge, and recover inside large on- and offshore wind farms, and how farm-scale momentum supply governs power output.
Atmospheric and turbulent boundary layers
Structure and scaling of turbulent boundary layers, including the atmospheric boundary layer that supplies wind farms with momentum and energy.
Related wind-energy aeroacoustics research examines how wakes, turbine layout, terrain and the atmosphere affect sound propagation. Explore the wind-farm layout and noise study.
Multiscale prediction and physical modelling
Reduced-order models connect wake dynamics, boundary-layer theory, and atmospheric forcing to make mechanistic predictions across more layouts and conditions than high-fidelity simulation alone can cover.
For the coupling between turbine layout and atmospheric momentum supply, see the coupled wake–boundary-layer (CWBL) model, developed with Dennice Gayme and Charles Meneveau.
Physics-based wind-farm modelling
Analytical and reduced-order models, informed by LES, for predicting wind-farm performance and separating layout effects from farm-scale atmospheric response.
Current work also examines multiscale atmospheric contributions to wind-farm power spectra and power response to changing wind speed. These studies investigate how atmospheric variability and finite wake-adjustment times affect wind-farm power.
Turbulence simulation and high-performance computing
Direct numerical simulation of canonical flows isolates heat- and momentum-transport mechanisms and provides reference cases for numerical methods used in larger atmospheric and wind-farm calculations.
Canonical systems
Thermal convection
DNS and LES of Rayleigh-Bénard convection, the canonical system for studying buoyancy-driven turbulent heat transport.
Taylor-Couette and wall turbulence
Turbulent flow between differentially rotating cylinders, used as a closed wall-bounded analogue for studying momentum transport and drag.
Thermal-convection subtopics
High Rayleigh number convection
Extreme driving and the transition toward the ultimate transport regime.
Rotating Rayleigh-Bénard convection
Rotation-dependent heat transport and coherent flow organization.
Computational method and software
AFiD
Open-source, high-performance DNS software for Rayleigh-Bénard convection, Taylor-Couette flow, channel flow, and plane Couette flow.
Research collaboration
The programme supports collaborations around three connected types of question:
- Wind farms and the atmosphere: atmospheric forcing, farm-to-farm interactions, wakes, blockage, and energy transport studied with large-eddy simulation and physical analysis.
- Multiscale prediction: reduced-order models that connect turbine-scale flow to boundary-layer and weather-scale response.
- Canonical turbulence and computing: direct numerical simulation, controlled transport problems, numerical methods, and the AFiD software.
The group is part of the Max Planck–University of Twente Center for Complex Fluid Dynamics; AFiD was developed with the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, SURFsara, and NVIDIA. Publications link to available open versions. There is no general public data catalogue, so data availability must be assessed for the specific study.
For a concrete enquiry, email Richard Stevens with the research question, physical regime and scales, target observables, and the methods or facilities you can contribute.
Evidence and external recognition
Wind-farm–atmosphere interaction
Contribution
Connecting turbine-wake mechanics to farm-scale momentum supply and atmospheric response, with a synthesis across scales in the Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics.
External evidence
- European Commission CORDIS records WINDFLOW as an ERC-funded University of Twente project running from May 2024 to April 2029.
- The Annual Review article synthesizes turbine wakes, wind-farm boundary layers, and atmospheric coupling across scales.
Multiscale prediction and physical modelling
Contribution
Separating turbine-scale losses from farm-scale atmospheric response and testing how physical interventions change those coupled balances.
External evidence
- Cambridge University Press classifies Understanding wind-farm power densities as a Journal of Fluid Mechanics Focus on Fluids article.
- Physical Review Fluids marks the windbreak study as an Editors’ Suggestion; it also received APS Physics coverage.
Turbulence simulation and high-performance computing
Contribution
Using canonical direct numerical simulations and scalable solvers to isolate heat- and momentum-transport mechanisms under controlled conditions.
External evidence
- The AFiD CPU and GPU implementations are public, with peer-reviewed descriptions of the numerical method and GPU implementation.
- The University of Twente records a 2018 ERC Starting Grant for research on highly turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection.