• Wind and Structures
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.393-403
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• 2021

A comprehensive knowledge of the wind flow in hilly terrains is of great interest in many engineering applications, be it wind energy distribution for suitable site selection for wind farms, pollution dispersion, forest fire propagation or agrometerological studies. Several researchers have shown that wind flow over a hilly terrain may be significantly different when compared with the wind flow over a flat terrain. Complex hilly terrains may alter the wind speed to a great extent. Therefore, this effect of terrain must be properly assessed by designers and planners to arrive at a proper wind flow distribution. This paper reviews the work done in this area over the past three decades. Wind flow over two-dimensional hills and two-dimensional escarpments investigated in wind tunnels by various researchers is presented in this paper.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.275-292
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• 2010

Wind tunnel experiments were conducted to investigate the wind characteristics in the mountainous valley terrain with 4 simplified valley models and a 1:500 scale model of an existing valley terrain in the simulated atmospheric neutral boundary layer model. Measurements were focused on the mean wind flow and longitudinal turbulence intensity. The relationship between hillside slopes and the velocity speed-up effect were studied. By comparing the preliminary results obtained from the simplified valley model tests and the existing terrain model test, some fundamental information was obtained. The measured results indicate that it is inappropriate to describe the mean wind velocity profiles by a power law using the same roughness exponent along the span wise direction in the mountainous valley terrain. The speed-up effect and the significant change in wind direction of the mean flow were observed, which provide the information necessary for determining the design wind speed such as for a long-span bridge across the valley. The longitudinal turbulence intensity near the ground level is reduced due to the speed-up effect of the valley terrain. However, the local topographic features of a more complicated valley terrain may cause significant perturbation to the general wind field characteristics in the valley.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.541-563
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• 2014

This paper investigates the topographic effects on wind characteristics over hilly terrain, based on wind data recorded at a number of meteorological stations in or near complex terrain. The multiply data sources allow a more detailed investigation of the flow field than is normally possible. Vertical profiles of mean and turbulent wind components from a Sodar profiler were presented and then modeled as functions of height and wind speed. The correlations between longitudinal and vertical wind components were discussed. The phenomena of flow separation and generation of vortices were observed. The distance-dependence of the topographic effects on gust factors was revealed subsequently. Furthermore, the canyon effect was identified and discussed based on the observations of wind at a saddle point between two mountain peaks. This study aims to further understanding of the characteristics of surface wind over rugged terrain. The presented results are expected to be useful for structural design, prevention of pollutant dispersion, and validation of CFD (computational fluid dynamics) models or techniques over complex terrains.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.15-36
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• 2015

Characterization of wind flows over a complex terrain, especially mountain-gorge terrain (referred to as the very complex terrain with rolling mountains and deep narrow gorges), is an important issue for design and operation of long-span bridges constructed in this area. In both wind tunnel testing and numerical simulation, a transition section is often used to connect the wind tunnel floor or computational domain bottom and the boundary top of the terrain model in order to generate a smooth flow transition over the edge of the terrain model. Although the transition section plays an important role in simulation of wind field over complex terrain, an appropriate shape needs investigation. In this study, two principles for selecting an appropriate shape of boundary transition section were proposed, and a theoretical curve serving for the mountain-gorge terrain model was derived based on potential flow theory around a circular cylinder. Then a two-dimensional (2-D) simulation was used to compare the flow transition performance between the proposed curved transition section and the traditional ramp transition section in a wind tunnel. Furthermore, the wind velocity field induced by the curved transition section with an equivalent slope of $30^{\circ}$ was investigated in detail, and a parameter called the 'velocity stability factor' was defined; an analytical model for predicting the velocity stability factor was also proposed. The results show that the proposed curved transition section has a better flow transition performance compared with the traditional ramp transition section. The proposed analytical model can also adequately predict the velocity stability factor of the wind field.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.219-237
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• 2009

This study examines the accuracy of large-eddy simulation (LES) to simulate the flow around a large irregular sloping complex terrain. Typically, real built up environments are surrounded by complex terrain geometries with many features. The complex terrain surrounding The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology campus was modelled and the flow over an uphill slope was simulated. The simulated results, including mean velocity profiles and turbulence intensities, were compared with the flow characteristics measured in a wind tunnel model test. Given the size of the domain and the corresponding constraints on the resolution of the simulation, the mean velocity components within the boundary layer flow, especially in the stream-wise direction were found to be reasonably well replicated by the LES. The turbulence intensity values were found to differ from the wind tunnel results in the building recirculation zones, mostly due to the constraints placed on spatial and temporal resolutions. Based on the validated mean velocity profile results, the flow-structure interactions around these buildings and the surrounding terrain were examined.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.375-383
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• 2010

A three-dimensional flow simulation was performed to investigate the wind flow around wind-power generation facilities on mountainous area of complex terrain. A digital map of eastern mountainous area of Korea including a wind farm was used to model actual complex terrain. Rotating wind turbines in the wind farm were also modeled in the computational domain with detailed geometry of blade by using the frozen rotor method. Wind direction and speed to be used as a boundary condition were taken from local meteorological reports. The numerical results showed not only details of flow distribution in the wind farm but also the variation in the performance of the wind turbines due to the installed location of the turbines on complex terrain. The wake effect of the upstream turbine on the performance of the downstream one was also examined. The methodology presented in this study may be used in selecting future wind farm site and wind turbine locations in the selected site for possible maximum power generation.

• 한국전산유체공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.05a
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• pp.493-495
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• 2010

A three-dimensional flow simulation is performed to investigate the flow field in the ski resort on complex terrain. The present paper aims to study the wind effects of mountainous terrain on the gondola safety. Strong wind happens in the ski resort on the mountain by complex terrain and it causes the dangerous accident of gondola. A digital map around the ski resort area is used to model the actual complex terrain for a 3-D analysis domain. Wind direction and speed to be used as a boundary condition are taken from local meteorological reports. The numerical results show details of the velocity distribution around a ski resort. From the results, we can suggest the modification of the installation of gondola for the safety due to strong wind.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.287-300
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• 2022

Unconventional structures are getting more popular in recent days. Large-span roofs are used for many structures, such as airports, stadiums, and conventional halls. Identifying the pressure distribution and wind load acting on those structures is essential. This paper offers a collaborative study of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and wind tunnel tests for assessing wind pressure distribution for a building with a combined slender curved roof. The hybrid turbulence model, Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation (IDDES), simulates the open terrain turbulent flow field. The wind-induced local pressure coefficients on complex roof structures and the turbulent flow field around the structure were thus calculated based upon open terrain wind flow simulated with the FLUENT software. Local pressure measurements were investigated in a boundary layer wind tunnel simultaneous to the simulation to determine the pressure coefficient distributions. The results predicted by CFD were found to be consistent with the wind tunnel test results. The comparative study validated that the recommended IDDES model and the vortex method associated with CFD simulation are suitable tools for structural engineers to evaluate wind effects on long-span complex roofs and plan irregular buildings during the design stage.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.34 no.10
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• pp.901-906
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• 2010

A three-dimensional flow simulation was performed to investigate the flow field in a wind farm on a complex terrain. The present study aims to examine the effects of mountainous terrain and turbine arrangement on the performance of wind power generation. A total of 49 wind turbines was modeled in the computational domain; detailed blade shape of the turbines was considered. Frozen rotor method was used to simulate the rotating operation. The torque acting on the turbine blades was calculated to evaluate the performance of the wind turbines. The numerical results showed details of the flow structure in the wind farm including the velocity deficit in the separated flow regions; this velocity deficit was due to the topographical effect. The effect of the wake induced by the upstream turbine on the performance of the downstream wind turbine could also be observed from the results. The methodology of the present study can be used for selecting future wind-farm sites and wind-turbine locations in a selected site to ensure maximum power generation.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.29-35
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• 2007

In accordance with Madrid and Kyoto Protocols, a 10kw wind turbine installed about 625m away from the King Sejong Station in the Antarctica has been in operation successfully. The current location of the wind turbine has different geographic surroundings from the previous candidate site considered in 2005 and that makes re-evaluation of wind resource at the current site including geographic effects necessary. Especially, strong wind flow derived by steep and complex terrain is dominant in the Antarctica so that computational flow analysis is required. The wind rose measured at the previous and current installation location are identical with strong meteorological correlation but prevailing directions of wind power density are different because of local wind acceleration due to complex terrain. Numerical analysis explains which effects brings this discordance between the two sites, and a design guideline required for additional wind turbine installation has been secured.