Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

A Local Meshless Method for Approximating 3D Wind Fields

Darrell W. Pepper Nevada Center for Advanced Computational Methods, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada

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Jiajia Waters Nevada Center for Advanced Computational Methods, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada

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Print Publication:
01 Jan 2016
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-15-0246.1
Page(s):
163–172
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Abstract

An efficient, mesh-free numerical method has been developed for creating 3D wind fields using data from meteorological towers. Node points are placed within a region of interest, generally based upon topological features. Since meshless methods do not require connective mesh generation, storage is greatly reduced, permitting implementation of the code using MATLAB on a personal computer. Utilizing locally collocated nodes and radial basis functions, a 3D wind can be quickly created that satisfies mass consistency. The meshless method yields close approximations to results obtained with mesh-dependent finite-difference, finite-volume, and finite-element techniques.

Corresponding author address: Darrell W. Pepper, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4027. E-mail: darrell.pepper@unlv.edu

Abstract

An efficient, mesh-free numerical method has been developed for creating 3D wind fields using data from meteorological towers. Node points are placed within a region of interest, generally based upon topological features. Since meshless methods do not require connective mesh generation, storage is greatly reduced, permitting implementation of the code using MATLAB on a personal computer. Utilizing locally collocated nodes and radial basis functions, a 3D wind can be quickly created that satisfies mass consistency. The meshless method yields close approximations to results obtained with mesh-dependent finite-difference, finite-volume, and finite-element techniques.

Corresponding author address: Darrell W. Pepper, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4027. E-mail: darrell.pepper@unlv.edu
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Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology

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