Data Visualisation Software Enhances Wind Energy Research

The MERIDIONAL project is harnessing the capabilities of VISTLE, an open-source scientific visualisation software program, to advance wind energy research.

MERIDIONAL, an EU-funded project on wind energy research is leveraging the power of VISTLE, an open-source scientific visualisation software program. Developed by the High-Performance Computing Center Stuttgart (HLRS), VISTLE provides researchers with interactive, high-fidelity visualisations of complex wind flow simulations, enabling deeper insights into wind farm performance and aerodynamics.

First released in 2012, VISTLE is a modular and extensible program designed to handle large-scale scientific datasets and a wide range of simulation formats. In its application to MERIDIONAL, the software facilitates real-time interaction with data to explore wind behavior in immersive virtual environments. Its remote rendering capabilities enable computationally intensive operations to be performed on high-performance clusters while maintaining seamless user interaction on local devices. Despite its specialisation for virtual and augmented reality applications, it offers desktop support too, allowing users to generate visualisations using their hardware.

Published

Mar 05, 2025

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Within the MERIDIONAL project, VISTLE has been employed to create a remote, interactive visualisation of the airflow around wind farms. A prototype developed in collaboration with EnBW focuses on the He Dreiht wind farm in the North Sea, integrating a digital twin of the site with advanced simulation data. This visualisation allows researchers to analyse both steady and unsteady airflows, helping to optimise wind turbine placement and performance.

Two scientists discuss a 3D simulation of the structure at the based of a wind turbine.

The simulation in VISTLE also makes it possible to zoom in and discuss the wind turbine structures in detail.

Furthermore, VISTLE’s integration with immersive technologies, such as virtual and augmented reality, provides an intuitive platform for engineers, researchers, and stakeholders to interact with complex datasets. The software’s modular design and extensibility ensure adaptability to different research needs.

The adoption of VISTLE in the MERIDIONAL project marks a significant step forward in the visualisation of wind energy systems.

MERIDIONAL is funded by the EU's Horizon Research and Innovation programme under GA n°101084216 with a budget of roughly €6 million. The project will enable the efficient and accurate assessment of the performance and loads experienced by onshore, offshore, and airborne wind energy systems.

Learn more

The VISTLE data visualisation platform’s source code is open-source and can be found on Github: GitHub - vistle: Software Environment for High-Performance Simulation and Parallel Visualization

For more information about VISTLE, visit: Vistle | Distributed Data-parallel Scientific Visualization in VR