• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.65-86
• /
• 2012

Over the last decade substantial improvements have been made in our ability to observe the tropical cyclone boundary layer. Low-level wind speed maxima have been frequently observed in Global Positioning System dropwindsonde (GPS sonde) profiles. Data from GPS sondes and coastal Doppler radars were employed to evaluate the characteristics of tropical cyclone vertical wind profiles in open ocean conditions and at landfall. Changes to the mean vertical wind profile were observed azimuthally and with decreasing radial distance toward the cyclone center. Wind profiles within the hurricane boundary layer exhibited a logarithmic increase with height up to the depth of the wind maximum.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.419-433
• /
• 2013

This paper investigates the vertical profiles of horizontal mean wind speed and direction based on the synchronized measurements from a Doppler radar profiler and an anemometer during 16 tropical cyclones at a coastal site in Hong Kong. The speed profiles with both open sea and hilly exposures were found to follow the log-law below a height of 500 m. Above this height, there was an additional wind speed shear in the profile for hilly upwind terrain. The fitting parameters with both the power-law and the log-law varied with wind strength. The direction profiles were also sensitive to local terrain setups and surrounding topographic features. For a uniform open sea terrain, wind direction veered logarithmically with height from the surface level up to the free atmospheric altitude of about 1200 m. The accumulated veering angle within the whole boundary layer was observed to be $30^{\circ}$. Mean wind direction under other terrain conditions also increased logarithmically with height above 500 m with a trend of rougher exposures corresponding to lager veering angles. A number of empirical parameters for engineering applications were presented, including the speed adjustment factors, power exponents of speed profiles, and veering angle, etc. The objective of this study aims to provide useful information on boundary layer wind characteristics for wind-resistant design of high-rise structures in coastal areas.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.79-89
• /
• 1996

We calculate the theoretical line profiles for 32 Cyg in order to investigate the influence of various velocity fields. Line profiles are calculated with wind accelerations driven by Alfven waves and described by velocity parameters. The results for Alfvenic wave model show weakened line profiles. For the orbital phases ${\Phi}$=0.78 and ${\Phi}$=0.06 the Alfvenic models show strong absorption part due to very low densities at the surface of the supergiant. Hence, we conclude the velocity gradient of the wind near the supergiant could influence on the theoretical line formation.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.45 no.1
• /
• pp.1-18
• /
• 2013

The typhoon wind characteristics designing for buildings or bridges located in complex terrain and typhoon prone region normally cannot be achieved by the very often few field measurement data, or by physical simulation in wind tunnel. This study proposes a numerical simulation procedure for predicting directional typhoon design wind speeds and profiles for sites over complex terrain by integrating typhoon wind field model, Monte Carlo simulation technique, CFD simulation and artificial neural networks (ANN). The site of Stonecutters Bridge in Hong Kong is chosen as a case study to examine the feasibility of the proposed numerical simulation procedure. Directional typhoon wind fields on the upstream of complex terrain are first generated by using typhoon wind field model together with Monte Carlo simulation method. Then, ANN for predicting directional typhoon wind field at the site are trained using representative directional typhoon wind fields for upstream and these at the site obtained from CFD simulation. Finally, based on the trained ANN model, thousands of directional typhoon wind fields for the site can be generated, and the directional design wind speeds by using extreme wind speed analysis and the directional averaged mean wind profiles can be produced for the site. The case study demonstrated that the proposed procedure is feasible and applicable, and that the effects of complex terrain on design typhoon wind speeds and wind profiles are significant.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.30 no.6
• /
• pp.575-595
• /
• 2020

The characteristics of winds associated with tropical cyclones are of great significance in many engineering fields. This paper presents an investigation of wind characteristics over a coastal urban terrain based on field measurements collected from multiple cup anemometers and ultrasonic anemometers equipped at 13 height levels on a 356-m-high meteorological tower in Shenzhen during severe Typhoon Hato. Several wind quantities, including wind spectrum, gust factor, turbulence intensity and length scale as well as wind profile, are presented and discussed. Specifically, the probability distributions of fluctuating wind speeds are analyzed in connection with the normal distribution and the generalized extreme value distribution. The von Karman spectral model is found to be suitable to depict the energy distributions of three-dimensionally fluctuating winds. Gust factors, turbulence intensity and length scale are determined and discussed. Moreover, this paper presents the wind profiles measured during the typhoon, and a comparative study of the vertical distribution of wind speeds from the field measurements and existing empirical models is performed. The influences of the topography features and wind speeds on the wind profiles were investigated based on the field-measured wind records. In general, the empirical models can provide reasonable predictions for the measured wind speed profiles over a typical coastal urban area during a severe typhoon.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.289-309
• /
• 2015

Vertical profiles of mean and fluctuating wind velocities over water waves were studied, by performing Large-Eddy Simulations (LES) on a fully developed turbulent boundary layer over simplified water waves. The water waves were simplified to two-dimensional, periodic and non-evolving. Different wave steepness defined by $a/{\lambda}$ (a : wave amplitude; ${\lambda}$ : wavelength) and wave age defined by $c/U_b$ (c: phase velocity of the wave; $U_b$ : bulk velocity of the air) were considered, in order to elaborate the characteristics of mean and fluctuating wind profiles. Results shows that, compared to a static wave, a moving wave plays a lesser aerodynamic role as roughness as it moves downstream slower or a little faster than air, and plays more aerodynamic roles when it moves downstream much faster than air or moves in the opposite direction to air. The changes of gradient height, power law index, roughness length and friction velocity with wave age and wave amplitude are presented, which shed light on the wind characteristics over real sea surfaces for wind engineering applications.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.12 no.6
• /
• pp.553-574
• /
• 2009

This paper presents statistical analysis results of wind speed and atmospheric turbulence data measured from more than 30 anemometers installed at 15 different height levels on 325 m high Beijing Meteorological Tower and is primarily intended to provide useful information on boundary layer wind characteristics for wind-resistant design of tall buildings and high-rise structures. Profiles of mean wind speed are presented based on the field measurements and are compared with empirical models' predictions. Relevant parameters of atmospheric boundary layer at urban terrain are determined from the measured wind speed profiles. Furthermore, wind velocity data in longitudinal, lateral and vertical directions, which were recorded from an ultrasonic anemometer during windstorms, are analyzed and discussed. Atmospheric turbulence information such as turbulence intensity, gust factor, turbulence integral length scale and power spectral densities of the three-dimensional fluctuating wind velocity are presented and used to evaluate the adequacy of existing theoretical and empirical models. The objective of this study is to investigate the profiles of mean wind speed and atmospheric turbulence characteristics over a typical urban area.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.10 no.5
• /
• pp.481-494
• /
• 2007

Downbursts are transient phenomena that produce wind profiles that are distinctly different from synoptic boundary layers. Wind field data from Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations of isolated downburst-like impinging jets, are used to investigate structural loads of tall buildings due to these high intensity winds. The base shear forces and base moments of tall buildings of heights between 120 and 250 m produced by downburst winds of various scales are compared with the forces from the equivalent boundary layer gust winds, with matched 10-metre wind velocity. The wind profiles are mainly functions of the size of the downburst and the radial distance from the centre of the storm. Wind forces due to various downburst profiles are investigated by placing the building at different locations relative to the storm center as well as varying the size of the downburst. Overall it is found that downbursts larger than approx. 2,000 m in diameter might produce governing design wind loads above those from corresponding boundary layer winds for tall buildings.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.75-86
• /
• 2023

The angle of attack is highly sensitive to pitch point in the airfoil shape and the decline of pitch point value induces smaller angle of attack, which implies that airfoil profile possessing closer pitch point to the airfoil tip reacts more sensitively to upcoming wind. The method of conformal transformation functions is employed for airfoil profiles and airfoil surfaces are expressed with a trigonometric series form. Attack angle and ideal lift coefficient distributions are investigated for various airfoil profiles in wind turbine blade regarding conformal transformation and pitch point. The conformed angle function representing the surface angle of airfoil shape generates various attack angle distributions depending on the choice of surface angle function. Moreover, ideal attack angle and ideal lift coefficient are susceptible to the choice of airfoil profiles and uniform loading area. High ideal attack angle signifies high pliability to upcoming wind, and high ideal lift coefficient involves high possibility to generate larger electric energy. According to results obtained pitch point, airfoil shape, uniform loading area, and the conformed airfoil surface angle function are crucial factors in the determination of angle of attack.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.13 no.6
• /
• pp.487-498
• /
• 2010

When designing structures to the wind action, the variation of the mean wind velocity and turbulence parameters with the height above the ground must be taken into account. This paper presents the numerical simulation results of atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) airflows, in a numerical domain with no obstacles and with a cubic building. The results of the flow characterization, obtained with the FLUENT CFD code were performed using the ${\kappa}-{\varepsilon}$ turbulence model with the MMK modification. The mean velocity and turbulence intensity profiles in the inflow boundary were defined in accordance with the Eurocode 1.4, for different conditions of aerodynamic roughness. The maintenance of the velocity and turbulence characteristics along the domain were evaluated in an empty domain for uniform incident flow and the ABL Eurocode velocity profiles. The pressure coefficients on a cubic building were calculated using these inflow conditions.