• Wind and Structures
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.459-474
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• 2017

In this study an analytical expression is derived for the natural frequency of the wind turbine towers supported on flexible foundation. The derivation is based on a Euler-Bernoulli beam model where the foundation is represented by a stiffness matrix. Previously the natural frequency of such a model is obtained from numerical or empirical method. The new expression is based on pure physical parameters and thus can be used for a quick assessment of the natural frequencies of both the real turbines and the small-scale models. Furthermore, a relationship between the diagonal and non-diagonal element in the stiffness matrix is introduced, so that the foundation stiffness can be obtained from either the p-y analysis or the loading test. The results of the proposed expression are compared with the measured frequencies of six real or model turbines reported in the literature. The comparison shows that the proposed analytical expression predicts the natural frequency with reasonable accuracy. For two of the model turbines, some errors were observed which might be attributed to the difference between the dynamic and static modulus of saturated soils. The proposed analytical solution is quite simple to use, and it is shown to be more reasonable than the analytical and the empirical formulas available in the literature.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.402-409
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• 2004

Numerical analysis of static and dynamic wind effects on civil engineering structures was performed. Long-span suspension bridges are flexible structures that are highly sensitive to the action of the wind. Aerodynamic effect often becomes a governing factor in the design process of bridges and aeroelastic stability boundary becomes a prime criterion which should be confirmed during the structural design stage of bridges because the long-span suspension bridges are prone to the aerodynamic instabilities caused by wind. If the wind velocity exceeds the critical velocity that the bridge can withstand, then the bridge fails due to the phenomenon of flutter. Buffeting caused by turbulence results in structural fatigue, which could lead to the failure of a bridge. Navier-Stokes equations are used for the aeroelastic analysis of bridge girder section. The aeroelastic simulation is carried out to study the aeroelastic stability of bridges using both Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) and Computational Structural Dynamic (CSD) schemes.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.123-136
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• 2018

The effects of steep and shallow hills on a stationary tornado-like vortex with a swirl ratio of 0.4 are simulated and quantified as Fractional Speed Up Ratios (FSUR) at three different locations of the vortex with respect to the crests of the hills. Steady state Reynolds Averaged Naiver Stokes (RANS) equations closed using Reynolds Stress Turbulence model are used to simulate stationary tornadoes. The tornado wind field obtained from the numerical simulations is first validated with previous experimental and numerical studies by comparing radial and tangential velocities, and ground static pressure. A modified fractional speed-up ratio (FSUR) evaluation technique, appropriate to the complexity of the tornadic flow, is then developed. The effects of the hill on the radial, tangential and vertical flow components are assessed. It is observed that the effect of the hill on the radial and vertical component of the flow is more pronounced, compared to the tangential component. Besides, the presence of the hill is also seen to relocate the center of tornadic flow. New FSUR values are produced for shallow and steep hills.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.414-424
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• 2017

This paper introduces an experimental device which can measure accurate aerodynamic forces without support interference in wide experimental region for wind tunnel test of micro aerial vehicles (MAVs). A stereo pattern recognition (SPR) method was introduced to a magnetic suspension and balance system (MSBS), which can eliminate support interference by levitating the experimental model, to establish wider experimental region; thereby MSBS-SPR integrated system was developed. The SPR method is non-contact, highly accurate three-dimensional position measurement method providing wide measurement range. To evaluate the system performance, a series of performance evaluations including SPR system measurement accuracy and 6 degrees of freedom (DOFs) position/attitude control of the MAV model were conducted. This newly developed system could control the MAV model rapidly and accurately within almost 60mm for translational DOFs and 40deg for rotational DOFs inside of $300{\times}300mm$ test section. In addition, a static wind tunnel test was conducted to verify the aerodynamic force measurement capability. It turned out that this system could accurately measure the aerodynamic forces in low Reynolds number, even for the weak forces which were hard to measure using typical balance system, without making any mechanical contact with the MAV model.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.263-274
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• 2013

A numerical technique for fluid-structure interaction, which is based on the finite element method (FEM) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD), was developed for application to an industrial chimney equipped with a pendulum tuned mass damper (TMD). In order to solve the structural problem, a one-dimensional beam model (Navier-Bernoulli) was considered and, for the dynamical problem, the standard second-order Newmark method was used. Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible flow are solved in several horizontal planes to determine the pressure in the boundary of the corresponding cross-section of the chimney. Forces per unit length were obtained by integrating the pressure and are introduced in the structure using standard FEM interpolation techniques. For the fluid problem, a fractional step scheme based on a second order pressure splitting has been used. In each fluid plane, the displacements have been taken into account considering an Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian approach. The stabilization of convection and diffusion terms is achieved by means of quasi-static orthogonal subscales. For each period of time, the fluid problem was solved and the geometry of the mesh of each fluid plane is updated according to the structure displacements. Using this technique, along-wind and across-wind effects have been properly explained. The method was applied to an industrial chimney in three scenarios (with or without TMD and for different damping values) and for two wind speeds, showing different responses.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.78 no.5
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• pp.519-528
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• 2021

One of the most efficient designs of solar trackers for photovoltaic panels is the single-axis tracker, which holds the panels along a torque tube that is driven by a motor at the central section. These trackers have evolved to become extremely slender structures due to mechanical optimization against static load and the need of cost reduction in a very competitive market. Owing to the corresponding decrease in mechanical resistance, some of these trackers have suffered aeroelastic instability even at moderate wind speeds, leading to catastrophic failures. In the present work, an analytical and experimental approach has been developed to study that phenomenon. The analytical study has led to identify the dimensionless parameters that govern the motion of the panel-tracker structure. Also, systematic wind tunnel experiments have been carried out on a 3D aeroelastic scale model. The tests have been successful in reproducing the aeroelastic phenomena arising in real-scale cases and have allowed the identification and a close characterization of the phenomenon. The main results have been the determination of the critical velocity for torsional galloping as a function of tilt angle and a calculation methodology for the optimal sizing of solar tracker shafts.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.56-64
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• 2020

A wind tunnel test of 29.7% scaled model of NASA Common Research Model was performed in small low speed wind tunnel. The wind tunnel model was fabricated in Aluminium in consultation with NASA Langley Research Center and AIAA Drag Prediction Workshop committee members. The static aerodynamic forces and moments were measured at a relatively low Reynolds number of 0.3 × 10⁶ due to tunnel capability limitations. Pitching moment of three types of model support(Fin sting, Blade sting and Belly sting) were compared. The pitching moment for corrected Belly sting and Fin sting were similar. The result of pitching moment for Blade sting was very small.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.1599-1606
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• 2011

It is possible to study the load characteristics of full-scale hingeless rotor with the changing of physical smallscaled configurations such as rectangular and paddle blades, and metal and composite hubs. In this study, a static test, and a ground and wind-tunnel test were carried out using small-scale rotor models. The static test was carried out to confirm structural stiffness, characteristics of inertia, natural frequency, and damping ratio of rotors, and the ground and wind-tunnel test was carried out to confirm the stability and aerodynamic characteristics under hovering and forward flight conditions. According to the test results, the vertical load in the case of a combination of a small composite hub with paddle blades was higher than that in the case of a metal hub with paddle blades at same condition. Further, it was confirmed that the restraint of the combination of composite hub can be more flexible than the metal hub for the motion of paddle blades.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.169-184
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• 2019

This research work presents a study that aims to assess the dynamic structural behaviour and also investigate the human comfort levels of a reinforced concrete building, when subjected to nondeterministic wind dynamic loadings, considering the effect of masonry infills on the global stiffness of the structural model. In general, the masonry fills most of the empty areas within the structural frames of the buildings. Although these masonry infills present structural stiffness, the common practice of engineers is to adopt them as static loads, disregarding the effect of the masonry infills on the global stiffness of the structural system. This way, in this study a numerical model based on sixteen-storey reinforced concrete building with 48 m high and dimensions of $14.20m{\times}15m$ was analysed. This way, static, modal and dynamic analyses were carried out in order to simulate the structural model based on two different strategies: no masonry infills and masonry infills simulated by shell finite elements. In this investigation, the wind action is considered as a nondeterministic process with unstable properties and also random characteristics. The fluctuating parcel of the wind is decomposed into a finite number of harmonic functions proportional to the structure resonant frequency with phase angles randomly determined. The nondeterministic dynamic analysis clearly demonstrates the relevance of a more realistic numerical modelling of the masonry infills, due to the modifications on the global structural stiffness of the building. The maximum displacements and peak accelerations values were reduced when the effect of the masonry infills (structural stiffness) were considered in the dynamic analysis. Finally, it can be concluded that the human comfort evaluation of the sixteen-storey reinforced concrete building can be altered in a favourable way to design.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.45-53
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• 2003

This paper presents a study on the power factor improvement of V47- 660 [kW] Wind Turbine Generation System (WTGS) in Jeju wind farm, as a model system in this paper. In this system, the power factor correction is controlled by the conventional method with power condensor banks. Also, this system has only four bank steps, and each one capacitor bank step is cut in every one second when the generator has been cut in. This means that it is difficult to compensate the reactive power exactly according to the variation of them. Actually, model system has very low power factor in the area of low wind speed, which is almost from 4 to 6 [m/s]. This is caused by the power factor correction using power condenser bank. To improve the power factor in the area of low wind speed, we used the static var compensator(SVC) using current controlled PWM power converter using IGBT switching device. Finally, to verify the proposed method, the results of computer simulation using Psim program are presented to support the discussions.