National Wind Technology Center's Information Portal
The National Wind Technology Center's archived information portal is an open-source library for wind and water power research.
The software and data are primarily for the benefit of the U.S. government and organizations that collaborate with the Department of Energy's Wind and Water Power Technologies Office. Others are welcome to use the software and data, but please note that they are meant for professionals with expertise in wind or water power technologies and are subject to a data use disclaimer agreement.
Engineering Tools
These engineering tools range from preprocessors to help build models, simulators to perform the analysis, postprocessors to analyze the results, and utilities to run and manage the processing tasks.
AirfoilPrep
AirfoilPrep is a preprocessor for generating airfoil tables for AeroDyn.
BModes
BModes is a finite-element code that provides dynamically coupled modes for a beam.
IECWind
IECWind is a utility program used to create wind files for InflowWind-based programs.
Modes
Modes generates mode shapes for wind turbine towers and blades.
NuMAD
NuMAD is a standalone, GUI pre-processor for ANSYS® finite element analysis software.
PreComp
PreComp is a code that provides span-variant structural properties for composite blades.
SS_Fitting
SS_Fitting is a MATLAB® toolbox designed to provide a state-space model based on the WAMIT output files.
TurbSim
TurbSim is a stochastic, full-field, turbulence simulator primarily for use with InflowWind-based simulation tools.
ADAMS2AD
The MSC.ADAMS-to-AeroDyn (ADAMS2AD) interface is a software package for simulating the coupled dynamic response of horizontal-axis wind turbines.
AeroDyn
AeroDyn is an aerodynamics software library (module) for use by designers of horizontal-axis wind turbines.
BeamDyn
BeamDyn is a time-domain structural-dynamics module for slender beam structures.
FAST
FAST, now OpenFAST, is NREL's primary physics-based engineering tool for simulating the coupled dynamic response of wind turbines.
FEAMooring
FEAMooring is a finite-element-based mooring-dynamics module.
HydroDyn
HydroDyn is a time-domain hydrodynamics module.
IceDyn/IceFloe
IceDyn and IceFloe are sets of routines that calculate time-domain loads induced by surface ice on offshore substructures.
InflowWind
InflowWind is a module for processing wind-inflow data.
MAP++
The Mooring Analysis Program (MAP++) is a library designed to be used in parallel with other engineering tools to model the steady-state forces on a Multi-Segmented, Quasi-Static mooring line.
MoorDyn
MoorDyn is a lumped-mass mooring line model for simulating the dynamics of moorings connected to floating offshore structures.
OpenFAST
OpenFAST is an open-source wind turbine simulation tool that was established with the FAST v8 code as its starting point.
OrcaFlex Interface
OrcaFlex is a commercial software package for the design and analysis of marine systems.
Seismic
Seismic is a module for simulating seismic loads on wind turbines.
SubDyn
SubDyn is a time-domain structural-dynamics module for multi-member fixed-bottom substructures.
SOWFA
SOWFA (Simulator fOr Wind Farm Applications) is a set of computational fluid dynamics solvers, boundary conditions, and turbine models.
TMD
The tuned mass damper (TMD) module adds functionality to FAST v8 that simulates the addition of TMDs in the nacelle and/or tower for structural control.
Crunch
Crunch is a software utility that performs several types of post-processing analyses for one or more files.
GenStats
GenStats is a fairly simple utility that generates statistics for one or more files.
GPP
GPP (pronounced "jeep") is a general-purpose postprocessor for wind turbine data analysis.
MBC
MBC is a set of MATLAB® scripts that performs multi-blade coordinate (MBC) transformation on wind turbine system models.
MCrunch
MCrunch is a MATLAB®-based postprocessor for wind turbine data analysis.
MExtremes
MExtremes (pronounced em-extremes) is a set of MATLAB® scripts that generate extreme-event tables for one or more time series.
MLife
MLife (pronounced em-life) is a set of MATLAB® scripts that calculate fatigue life and statistics for one or more time series.
BladeFS
BladeFS (Blade Fatigue Static) is a MATLAB® script that was developed to determine loads and deflections associated with fatigue and static structural testing of wind turbine blades using matrix based finite element analysis.
HARP_Opt
HARP_Opt (Horizontal Axis Rotor Performance Optimization) utilizes a multiple-objective genetic algorithm and blade-element momentum theory flow model to design horizontal-axis wind and hydrokinetic turbine rotors.
NAFNoise
NAFNoise, which stands for NREL AirFoil Noise, is a program that predicts the noise of any airfoil shape for five different types of noise sources.
PROPID
PROPID (PROP Inverse Design) is aerodynamic design software developed by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. You can use it to design rotors.
Data
Browse data from the National Wind Technology Center at NREL.
Read performance reports from The Ohio State University wind tunnel tests.
See data from the 135-meter turbine inflow research towers at NREL's Flatirons Campus, which are used to measure the atmospheric conditions and winds that flow into the site.
See data from NOAA buoys.