• Wind and Structures
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.589-608
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• 2017

A novel probabilistic approach is presented for estimating the equivalent static wind loads that produce a static response of the structure, which is "equivalent" in a probabilistic sense, to the extreme dynamic responses due to the unsteady pressure random field induced by the wind. This approach has especially been developed for complex structures (such as stadium roofs) for which the unsteady pressure field is measured in a boundary layer wind tunnel with a turbulent incident flow. The proposed method deals with the non-Gaussian nature of the unsteady pressure random field and presents a model that yields a good representation of both the quasi-static part and the dynamical part of the structural responses. The proposed approach is experimentally validated with a relatively simple application and is then applied to a stadium roof structure for which experimental measurements of unsteady pressures have been performed in boundary layer wind tunnel.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.209-216
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• 2020

Aiming at the wind-resistant design of a sea-crossing arch bridge, the static aerodynamic coefficients of its girder (composed of stretches of π-shaped cross-section and box cross-section) were studied by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) numerical simulation and wind tunnel test. Based on the comparison between numerical simulation, wind tunnel test and specification recommendation, a combined calculation method for the horizontal force coefficient of intermediate and small span bridges is proposed. The results show that the two-dimensional CFD numerical simulations of the individual cross sections are sufficient to meet the accuracy requirements of engineering practice.

• 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.24 no.1
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• pp.1-24
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• 2017

Wind environment in urban residential areas is an important index to consider when evaluating the living environment. However, due to the complexity of the flow field in residential areas, it is difficult to specify the correct inflow boundary conditions in the large eddy simulation (LES). In this paper, the weighted amplitude wave superposition (WAWS) is adopted to simulate the fluctuating velocity data, which satisfies the desired target wind field. The fluctuating velocity data are given to the inlet boundary of the LES by developing an UDF script, which is implemented into the FLUENT. Then, two numerical models - the empty numerical wind tunnel model and the numerical wind tunnel model with spires and roughness elements are established based on the wind tunnel experiment to verify the present method. Finally, the turbulence generation approach presented in this paper is used to carry out a numerical simulation on the wind environment in an urban residential area in Lisbon. The computational results are compared with the wind tunnel experimental data, showing that the numerical results in the LES have a good agreement with the experimental results, and the simulated flow field with the inlet fluctuations can generate a reasonable turbulent wind field. It also shows that strong wind velocities and turbulent kinetic energy occur at the passageways, which may affect the comfort of people in the residential neighborhood, and the small wind velocities and vortexes appear at the leeward corners of buildings, which may affect the spreading of the pollutants.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.185-197
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• 2014

Ventilation and fire safety design in road tunnels are one of the most complex issues that need to be carefully considered and analysed in the designing stage of any potential upgrade of ventilation and other fire safety systems in tunnels. Placement road tunnels space has an important influence on fire safety, especially when considering the effect of adverse wind conditions that significantly influence ventilation characteristics. The appropriate analysis of fire and smoke control is almost impossible without the use of modern simulation tools (e.g., CFD) due to a large number of influential parameters and consequently extensive data. The impact of the strong wind is briefly presented in this paper in the case of a longitudinally ventilated road tunnel Kastelec, which is exposed to various severe wind conditions that significantly influence its fire safety. The possibility of using CFD simulations in the analysis of the tunnel placement in space terms negative effect of wind influence on the tunnel ventilation is clearly indicated.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.69-83
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• 2020

Modelling incompressible, neutrally stratified, barotropic, horizontally homogeneous and steady-state atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) is an important aspect in computational wind engineering (CWE) applications. The ABL flow can be viewed as a balance of the horizontal pressure gradient force, the Coriolis force and the turbulent stress divergence. While much research has focused on the increase of the wind velocity with height, the Ekman layer effects, entailing veering - the change of the wind velocity direction with height, are far less concerned in wind engineering. In this paper, a modified k-ε model is introduced for the ABL simulation considering wind veering. The self-sustainable method is discussed in detail including the precursor simulation, main simulation and near-ground physical quantities adjustment. Comparisons are presented among the simulation results, field measurement values and the wind profiles used in the conventional wind tunnel test. The studies show that the modified k-ε model simulation results are consistent with field measurement values. The self-sustainable method is effective to maintain the ABL physical quantities in an empty domain. The wind profiles used in the conventional wind tunnel test have deficiencies in the prediction of upper-level winds. The studies in this paper support future practical super high-rise buildings design in CWE.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.203-214
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• 2024

Large-span cantilevered roof represents a unique type of structure that is vulnerable to wind loads. Inspired by the need to maximumly reducing the rooftop wind loads, this study examined the feasibility of positioning vented slots on the leading edge, and the effectiveness of such aerodynamic mitigation measures are assessed via both physical and numerical simulations. The reliability of numerical simulation was evaluated via comparisons with the wind tunnel tests. The results indicated that, the variation of venting hole arrangement can cause significant change in the rooftop wind load characteristics. For the cases involved in this study, the maximum reduction of mean and peak wind suction coefficients are found to be 9% and 8% as compared to the original circular slot without venting holes. In addition, the effect of slot shape is also evident. It was shown that the triangular shaped slot tends to increase the wind suction near the leading edge, whereas the hexagonal and octagonal shaped slots are found to decrease the wind suction. In particular, with the installation of octagonal shaped slot, the maximum reduction of wind suction coefficients near the leading edge reaches up to 31% as compared to the circular shaped slot, while the maximum reduction of mean wind suction coefficients is about 30%.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.31-47
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• 2019

The accurate prediction of snow distributions under the wind action on roofs plays an important role in designing structures in civil engineering in regions with heavy snowfall. Affected by some factors such as building shapes, sizes and layouts, the snow drifting on roofs shows more three-dimensional characteristics. Thus, the research on three-dimensional snow distribution is needed. Firstly, four groups of stepped flat roofs are designed, of which the width-height ratio is 3, 4, 5 and 6. Silica sand with average radius of 0.1 mm is used to model the snow particles and then the wind tunnel test of snow drifting on stepped flat roofs is carried out. 3D scanning is used to obtain the snow distribution after the test is finished and the mean mass transport rate is calculated. Next, the wind velocity and duration is determined for numerical simulations based on similarity criteria. The adaptive-mesh method based on radial basis function (RBF) interpolation is used to simulate the dynamic change of snow phase boundary on lower roofs and then a time-marching analysis of steady snow drifting is conducted. The overall trend of numerical results are generally consistent with the wind tunnel tests and field measurements, which validate the accuracy of the numerical simulation. The combination between the wind tunnel test and CFD simulation for three-dimensional typical roofs can provide certain reference to the prediction of the distribution of snow loads on typical roofs.

• International Journal of Railway
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.99-105
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• 2008

Flow around an ICE2 high-speed train exiting a tunnel under the influence of a wind gust has been studied using numerical technique called detached eddy simulation. A wind gust boundary condition was derived to approximate previous experimental observations. The body of the train includes most important details including bogies, plugs, inter-car gaps and rotating wheels on the rail. The maximal yawing and rolling moments which possibly can cause a derailment or overturning were found to occur when approximately one third and one half of the train, respectively, has left the tunnel. These are explained by development of a strong vortex trailing along the upper leeward edge of the train. All aerodynamic forces and moments were monitored during the simulation and the underlying flow structures and mechanisms are explained.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.680-687
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• 2007

The paper presents a numerical simulation of flow of a turbulent boundary layer, representing a typical wind environment and matching a series of wind tunnel observations. The simulations are carried out at a Reynolds number of 20,000, based on the velocity U at a pseudo-height h, and large enough that the flow be effectively Reynolds number independent. Some wall models are proposed for the LES(Large Eddy Simulation) of the turbulent boundary layer over a rough surface. The Jenson number, $J=h/z_0$, based on the roughness length $z_0$, is 600 to match the wind tunnel data. The computational mesh is uniform with a spacing of h/32, as this aids rapid convergence of the multigrid solver, and the governing equations are discretised using second order finite differences within a parallel multiblock environment. The results presented include the comparison between wind tunnel measurements and LES computations of the turbulent boundary layer over rough surface.