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Have you ever wished to have a turbulence measurements time series at each turbine position of your planned or existing wind farm? With Vortex LES, you can get something outstandingly similar: a high-resolution modeled turbulence time series built specifically for turbulence modeling at turbine level, even at sites where no reliable on-site measurement campaign has ever been carried out.
Vortex LES is an NWP-CFD online-coupled framework based on the WRF model, powered by NCAR’s Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology Laboratory (MMM). For microscale applications, the WRF model uses a CFD algorithm based on the LES approach. When WRF is coupled with the LES model, turbulence parameterization is replaced by explicit resolution of turbulent eddies, the result is known as the WRF-LES model, capable of representing the fine-scale atmospheric behavior that traditional mesoscale models cannot capture.
Vortex has improved the original source code in two key ways: solving the lateral boundary conditions (LBC) issue through a perturbation in potential temperature, and optimizing computational performance so that simulations remain feasible at high resolution over long periods. This modified framework is called Vortex-LES, and it provides high-resolution modeled wind resource data and virtual turbulence datasets for any location worldwide, onshore or offshore.
By integrating advanced LES modeling with long-term historical wind data, these datasets support turbulence modeling, shear and veer analysis, and detailed wind farm development decisions, helping reduce uncertainty during the early stages of a project. Download the white paper for full technical validation details, or try Vortex Data to access turbulence time series at any coordinate worldwide.
These Vortex LES datasets provide high-resolution turbulence time series and modeled wind resource data, supporting accurate wind farm development planning and detailed site-specific turbulence analysis. By combining advanced LES simulations with long-term historical wind data, engineers gain actionable insights for optimizing turbine placement, energy yield, and microscale flow characterization.
It's an NWP-CFD framework based on the WRF model that explicitly resolves turbulent eddies instead of parameterizing them, generating realistic turbulence time series at turbine level.
Vortex LES simulates 10-minute time series at 100 m horizontal resolution, available at any location worldwide, onshore or offshore.
No. Vortex LES is specifically designed for situations where no reliable measured wind data is available to characterize mean flow and turbulence.
All heights from 50 to 300 m are included, allowing for shear and veer calculation across the full rotor swept area.
You can select a specific full year or a long-term representative period, depending on your project needs.
The model is based on ECMWF ERA-5 reanalysis, combined with the WRF-LES coupled framework.
Through the wind speed standard deviation of the physically computed 10-minute average records, based on 4-Hz samples including 3-second gust.
Vortex solved the lateral boundary conditions (LBC) problem via a perturbation in potential temperature and optimized the code for computational efficiency — this improved version is called Vortex-LES.
Yes, the 10-minute modeled wind data is a strong candidate to fill day-scale gaps in measured datasets and support wind farm development planning.
Yes, it can be applied to any location worldwide, both onshore and offshore.
Data is provided as modeled 10-minute time series compatible with standard wind resource assessment workflows.
Choose LES when no measured wind data is available or reliable, and you need modeled wind resource data with explicit turbulence characterization for wind farm development or site-specific turbulence analysis.
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Modeled wind resource data for the wind industry.
At any site around the world. Onshore and offshore.
