Getting started

This page builds GALE against the bundled OpenFAST stub and runs one turbine. No OpenFAST installation is needed. For real turbines, see Building.

1. Clone

git clone --recursive https://github.com/erf-model/GALE.git
cd GALE

2. Build

cmake -S . -B cmake-build -DERF_ENABLE_MPI=ON -DERF_ENABLE_FFT=ON \
      -DERF_ENABLE_OPENFAST=ON -DERF_OPENFAST_USE_STUB=ON
cmake --build cmake-build -j

The executable is cmake-build/ERF/Exec/erf_exec. ERF’s Getting Started page lists the compilers and libraries it needs.

3. Run a case

Each folder in Exec/CanonicalTests/MovingBodies is a ready-to-run case. The actuator disk in uniform inflow is a good first one:

cp -r Exec/CanonicalTests/MovingBodies/OpenFAST_ADM_Uniform run-adm
cd run-adm
mpiexec -n 2 ../cmake-build/ERF/Exec/erf_exec OpenFAST_ADM_Uniform.i

It takes a few seconds: ten steps of a uniform 10 m/s flow through one rotor.

4. Look at the output

File

Contents

T1_erf.csv

rotor speed, thrust, torque, power, hub axis

T1_flow.csv

velocity handed to the turbine at the hub and blade mean

moving_bodies/momentum_source.csv

force put into the flow; equals minus the thrust’s shaft component

The deck sets output_root = T1, so the turbine’s logs are in the run folder. momentum_source.csv rows carry the time at the start of a step and T1_erf.csv rows the time at its end, so compare a momentum_source row with the T1_erf row one step earlier.

The full list is in Outputs. ERF’s plotfiles hold the flow with the wake.

Next steps