• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.113-144
• /
• 2014

Separation bubble and conical vortices on a large-span flat roof were observed in this study through the use of flow visualization. The results indicated that separation bubble occurred when the flow was normal to the leading edge of the flat roof. Conical vortices that occur under the cornering flow were observed near the leading edge, and their appearance was influenced by the wind angle. When the wind changed from along the diagonal to deviating from the diagonal of the roof, the conical vortex close to the approaching flow changed from circular to be more oblong shaped. Based on the measured velocities in the conical vortices by flow visualization, a proposed two-dimensional vortex model was improved and validated by simplifying the velocity profile between the vortex and the potential flow region. Through measured velocities and parameters of vortices, the intensities of conical vortices and separation bubble on a large-span flat roof under different wind directions were provided. The quasi-steady theory was corrected by including the effect of vortices. With this improved two-dimensional vortex model and the corrected quasi-steady theory, the mean and peak suction beneath the cores of the conical vortices and separation bubble can be predicted, and these were verified by measured pressures on a larger-scale model of the flat roof.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.663-684
• /
• 2016

Conical vortices generated at the corner regions of large-span flat roofs have been investigated by using the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique. Mean and instantaneous vector fields for velocity, vorticity, and streamlines were measured at three visual planes and for two different flow angles of $15^{\circ}$. The results indicated that conical vortices occur when the wind is not perpendicular to the front edge. The location of the leading edge corresponding to the negative peak vorticity and maximum turbulent kinetic energy was found at the center of the conical vortex. The wind pressure reaches the maximum near the leading edge roof corner, and a triangle of severe suctions zone appears downstream. The mean pressure in uniform flow is greater than that under turbulent flow condition, while a significant increase in the fluctuating wind pressure occurs in turbulent streams. From its emergence to stability, the shape of the vortex cross-section is nearly elliptical, with increasing area. The angle that forms between the vortex axis and the leading edge is much smaller in turbulent streams. The detailed flow structures and characteristics obtained through FLUENT simulation are in agreement with the experimental results. The three dimensional (3-D) structure of the conical vortices is clearly observed from the comprehensive arrangement of several visual planes, and the inner link was established between the vortex evolution process, vortex core position and pressure distribution.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
• /
• 2000.04b
• /
• pp.667-672
• /
• 2000

The Characteristics of the conical vortices on the roof surface of a low-rise building has been investigated by using a PIV(Particle Image Velocimerty) technique. The scaled model of TTU building with 1:92 scaling ratio was used. The Reynolds number based on the free stream velocity and the length of the model was $1.96{\times}10^5$. When the angle of attack for the building model is $45^{\circ}$, the conical vortices are occurred symmetrically and the center of vortices are changed with respect to the angle of the approaching flow. The rotating direction of the conical vortices found to be counter-rotating. The secondary vortex motions are investigated using the instantaneous flow field data.

• Journal of computational fluids engineering
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.7-13
• /
• 2015

Vortex tube is a thermal static device that separates compressed air into hot and cold streams. In general, the cooling efficiency of vortex tubes is lower than that of traditional air conditioning equipment and vortex tubes are mainly used for industrial spot cooling applications because of their quick responses. In this study, conical frustums are employed in the nozzle chamber to improve the cooling performance. Conical frustums can be used to decrease the ineffective mass fraction that directly passes through the cold exit without energy separation. The shape optimization of conical frustums has been performed using full factorial design. It is found that the height of frustums has the largest main effects on the cooling performance. Computational results show that the cooling performance can be increased by about 10% within the considered range of the design parameters. This is because the ineffective mass fraction toward the cold exit is decreased by about 20%.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.4 no.3
• /
• pp.227-246
• /
• 2001

The objective of this study is to understand the flow above the front edge of low-rise building roofs. The greatest suction on the building is known to occur at this location as a result of the formation of conical vortices in the separated flow zone. It is expected that the relationship between this suction and upstream flow conditions can be better understood through the analysis of the vortex flow mechanism. Experimental measurements were used, along with predictions from numerical simulations of delta wing vortex flows, to develop a model of the pressure field within and beneath the conical vortex. The model accounts for the change in vortex suction with wind angle, and includes a parameter indicating the strength of the vortex. The model can be applied to both mean and time dependent surface pressures, and is validated in a companion paper.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
• /
• v.25 no.5
• /
• pp.713-721
• /
• 2001

Characteristics of the conical vortices on the roof corner of a rectangular prism have been investigated by using a PIV(Particle Image Velocimetry) technique. The Reynolds number based on the free stream velocity and the height of the model was 5.3$\times$10$^3$. The mean, instantaneous velocity vector fields, vorticity fields, and turbulent kinetic energy distribution were measured for two different angles of attack, 30$^{\circ}$and 45$^{\circ}$. The PIV measurements clearly observed not only the conical main vortex and the secondary vortex but also the tertiary vortex which is firstly reported in this paper. Asymmetric formation of the corner vortex for the case of 30$^{\circ}$angle of attack produces relatively the high magnitude of vorticity and turbulent kinetic energy around the bigger vortex which generates the peak suction pressure on the roof. Fairly symmetric features of the roof vortex are observed in the case of 45$^{\circ}$angle of attack, however, the dynamic characteristics are proved to be asymmetric due to the rectangular shape of the roof.

• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.47-56
• /
• 2011

Our previous experimental and numerical investigations of decelerated swirling flows in conical diffusers have demonstrated that water jet injection along the symmetry axis mitigates the pressure fluctuations associated with the precessing vortex rope. However, for swirling flows similar to Francis turbines operated at partial discharge, the jet becomes effective when the jet discharge is larger than 10% from the turbine discharge, leading to large volumetric losses when the jet is supplied from upstream the runner. As a result, we introduce the flow-feedback approach for supplying the jet by using a fraction of the discharge collected downstream the conical diffuser. Experimental investigations on mitigating the pressure fluctuations generated by the precessing vortex rope and investigations of pressure recovery coefficient on the cone wall with and without flow-feedback method are presented.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
• /
• v.25 no.4_2
• /
• pp.637-644
• /
• 2022

In this study, the flow characteristics according to the shape of the vortex nozzle was studied by numerical analysis and the amount of microbubble generation was measured experimentally. The shape of the vortex nozzle is cylindrical, diffuser, and conical type. The axial fluid velocity in the induced tube gradually increased from the inlet to the outlet. In particular, the fluid velocity in the nozzle part increased rapidly. The velocity distribution of the fluid at the inlet of the induced tube showed that the flow rotates counterclockwise in the outer region and the inner center of the induced tube. At the outlet of the induced tube, the cylindrical and conical type showed rotational flow, and the diffuser type showed irregular turbulent flow. The dimensionless pressure ratio 𝜂 of the inner region of the induced tube was lower than that of the outer region. Also, 𝜂 near the outlet of the induced tube in cylindrical and conical type showed a similar tendency to the inlet area. At the outer region of inlet of induced tube, intense vorticity was observed on the wall and in lower region. At the inner region of inlet of induced tube, intense vorticity was observed on the inner wall of the induced tube and in the central region of the inlet of the induced tube. At the outlet of induced tube, in the case of the cylindrical and conical type, intense vorticity was observed near the inner wall, the diffuser type showed irregular strong vorticity inside the tube. The total number of bubbles measured was the most in the cylindrical type, and the microbubbles less than 50mm occurred the most in the conical type.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.131-146
• /
• 2001

A full-scale synchronized data acquisition system was set up on the roof of the experimental building at the Texas Tech University Wind Engineering Research Field Laboratory to simultaneously collect approaching wind data, conical vortex images, and roof corner suction pressure data. One-second conditional sampling technique has been applied in the data analysis, which makes it possible to separately evaluate the influencing effects of the horizontal wind angle of attack, ${\theta}$, and the vertical wind angle of attack, ${\varphi}$. Results show a clear cause-and-effect relationship between the incident wind, conical vortices, and the induced roof-corner high-suction pressures. The horizontal wind angle of attack, ${\theta}$, is shown to be the most significant factor in influencing the overall vortex structure and the suction pressures beneath. It is further revealed that the vertical wind angle of attack, ${\varphi}$, plays a critical role in generating the instantaneous peak suction pressures near the roof corner.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.4 no.4
• /
• pp.279-298
• /
• 2001

The greatest suction on the cladding of flat roof low-rise buildings is known to occur beneath the conical vortices that form along the roof edges for cornering winds. In a companion paper, a model of the vortex flow mechanism has been developed which can be used to connect the surface pressure beneath the vortex to adjacent flow conditions. The flow model is experimentally validated in this paper using simultaneous velocity and surface pressure measurement on a 1 : 50 model of the Texas Tech University experimental building in a wind tunnel simulated atmospheric boundary layer. Flow visualization gives further insight into the nature of peak suction events. The flow model is shown to account for the increase in suction towards the roof corner as well as the presence of the highest suction at wind angles of $60^{\circ}$. It includes a parameter describing vortex suction strength, which is shown to be related to the nature of the reattachment, and also suggests how different components of upstream turbulence could influence the surface pressure.