Wind Simulation in A Complex Terrain by Numerical Weather Prediction Method in WRF

To date, due to growing investment in renewable energies, researchers are interested in wind power feasibility studies for mountainous terrains. Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) methods has proved to be a strong tool to simulate wind flow field in real time. In present study, using NWP method and in particular WRF (weather research and forecasting model) software, the wind flow, over Martigny mountainous area located in Switzerland, has been simulated and studied. Due to high resolution of the simulation, Large Eddy Simulation (LES) has been employed to perform turbulence modelling. The objective of this study is to assess the credibility of WRF in wind simulation and to examine the effect of horizontal and vertical resolutions as well as two different sub-grid scale turbulence models. The results reveal that WRF is able to generate the wind flow in comparison with those data obtained from wind measurement stations and it can properly produce diurnal wind patterns. The results also show a promising simulation for the region, located within a wide and flat valley. However, the discrepancies between the results and those obtained from the wind station, are bold for regions located at high mountainous locations and at the peaks. Smagorinsky 3d SGS turbulence model show a better performance at mountain peaks in comparison with TKE1.5 model. In addition, increasing vertical resolution reduces the discrepancy and improves WRF performance.