Virtualwind
Virtualwind is an advanced simulation and visualization software package which can predict and understand wind and microclimate in environments ranging from urban and suburban areas to rural terrain.
Two Programs: Virtualwind and ViNE
While dealing with the simulation of complex turbulent air flow –– a task that demands sophisticated numerical methods and high computer power and is often performed on computer clusters and high-speed supercomputers, the software is designed for non-CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) experts to effectively simulate and evaluate wind related phenomena on their desktops. This is achieved through the collaboration of its two programs:
- Virtualwind
- ViNE (Virtualwind Network Executor)
Once Virtualwind is installed, on a Windows system, for example, you can find these two programs in the program bar as illustrated below.
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How They Work Together
As illustrated in the following figure, Virtualwind runs on your local computer and you can use it to set up a simulation and view the simulation results using the various tools provided with the program. ViNE runs on your local computer and, if your license supports a cluster environment, ViNE also needs to run on the remote computer (or computer cluster) that you want to execute the simulation, (i.e., to solve the physical equations) and to be properly configured. When a simulation is executed remotely, ViNE is responsible for submitting your simulation to the simulation queue on the remote computer (or cluster) and transferring the simulation results back to your local computer if so indicated.
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You can also choose to execute the simulation on your local machine by configurating ViNE to submit the simulation to the "localhost".
The following topics discuss the core concepts and tools available to you in Virtualwind. It is recommended that you follow the links listed here (preferably in the outlined order) to obtain a detailed description of each topic.