• Title/Summary/Keyword: wind tunnel tests

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Wind loading on trees integrated with a building envelope

  • Aly, Aly Mousaad;Fossati, Fabio;Muggiasca, Sara;Argentini, Tommaso;Bitsuamlak, Girma;Franchi, Alberto;Longarini, Nicola;Crespi, Pietro;Chowdhury, Arindam Gan
    • Wind and Structures
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    • v.17 no.1
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    • pp.69-85
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    • 2013
  • With the sustainability movement, vegetated building envelopes are gaining more popularity. This requires special wind effect investigations, both from sustainability and resiliency perspectives. The current paper focuses on wind load estimation on small- and full-scale trees used as part of green roofs and balconies. Small-scale wind load assessment was carried out using a wind tunnel testing in a global-effect study to understand the interference effects from surrounding structures. Full-scale trees were investigated at a large open-jet facility in a local-effect study to account for the wind-tree interaction. The effect of Reynolds number combined with shape change on the overall loads measured at the base of the trees (near the roots) has been investigated by testing at different model-scales and wind speeds. In addition, high-speed tests were conducted to examine the security of the trees in soil and to assess the effectiveness of a proposed structural mitigation system. Results of the current research show that at relatively high wind speeds the load coefficients tend to be reduced, limiting the wind loads on trees. No resonance or vortex shedding was visually observed.

Wind-induced response and loads for the Confederation Bridge -Part I: on-site monitoring data

  • Bakht, Bilal;King, J. Peter C.;Bartlett, F.M.
    • Wind and Structures
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    • v.16 no.4
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    • pp.373-391
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    • 2013
  • This is the first of two companion papers that analyse ten years of on-site monitoring data for the Confederation Bridge to determine the validity of the original wind speeds and wind loads predicted in 1994 when the bridge was being designed. The check of the original design values is warranted because the design wind speed at the middle of Northumberland Strait was derived from data collected at shore-based weather stations, and the design wind loads were based on tests of section and full-aeroelastic models in the wind tunnel. This first paper uses wind, tilt, and acceleration monitoring data to determine the static and dynamic responses of the bridge, which are then used in the second paper to derive the static and dynamic wind loads. It is shown that the design ten-minute mean wind speed with a 100-year return period is 1.5% less than the 1994 design value, and that the bridge has been subjected to this design event once on November 7, 2001. The dynamic characteristics of the instrumented spans of the bridge including frequencies, mode shapes and damping are in good agreement with published values reported by others. The on-site monitoring data show bridge response to be that of turbulent buffeting which is consistent with the response predicted at the design stage.

Correlation Analysis of Aerodynamic Forces acting on Tall Buildings with Various Side Ratios (다양한 변장비를 가진 고층건축물에 작용하는 풍력의 상관 분석)

  • Kim, Wonsul;Yoshida, Akihito;Tamura, Yukio
    • Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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    • v.28 no.2
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    • pp.153-160
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    • 2015
  • The objective of this study is to construct the TPU aerodynamic database with wind tunnel test data of overall wind loads and responses on tall buildings. In this study, wind tunnel tests were conducted to investigate characteristics of wind forces and the effect of wind load combination by cross-correlation analysis among along-wind overturning moment, across-wind overturning moment and torsional moment on a tall building with various side ratios(D/B=0.33, 0.50, 0.77, 0.83, 0.91, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.0 and 3.0) for different terrain roughnesses. The results of wind tunnel tests were compared with those of past literatures. As a result, there was no significant effects of changing of terrain roughnesses on moment coefficients and power spectral densities of across-wind overturning moment coefficients and torsional moment coefficients with various side ratios. Further, these results were good agreement with those of past literatures. From cross-correlation analysis, the across-wind overturning moment coefficients were highly correlated with the torsional moment coefficients. The results of this study will be helpful for practical designers in preliminary design stage.

Evaluation on bridge dynamic properties and VIV performance based on wind tunnel test and field measurement

  • Yang, Yongxin;Ma, Tingting;Ge, Yaojun
    • Wind and Structures
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    • v.20 no.6
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    • pp.719-737
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    • 2015
  • Full scale measurement on the structural dynamic characteristics and Vortex-induced Vibrations (VIV) of a long-span suspension bridge with a central span of 1650 m were conducted. Different Finite Element (FE) modeling principles for the separated twin-box girder were compared and evaluated with the field vibration test results, and the double-spine model was determined to be the best simulation model, but certain modification still needs to be made which will affect the basic modeling parameters and the dynamic response prediction values of corresponding wind tunnel tests. Based on the FE modal analysis results, small-scaled and large-scaled sectional model tests were both carried out to investigate the VIV responses, and probable Reynolds Number effects or scale effect on VIV responses were presented. Based on the observed VIV modes in the field measurement, the VIV results obtained from sectional model tests were converted into those of the three-dimensional (3D) full-scale bridge and subsequently compared with field measurement results. It is indicated that the large-scaled sectional model test can probably provide a reasonable and effective prediction on VIV response.

Experimental investigation of amplitude-dependent self-excited aerodynamic forces on a 5:1 rectangular cylinder

  • Wang, Qi;Wu, Bo;Liao, Hai-li;Mei, Hanyu
    • Wind and Structures
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    • v.34 no.1
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    • pp.73-80
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    • 2022
  • This paper presents a study on amplitude-dependent self-excited aerodynamic forces of a 5:1 rectangular cylinder through free vibration wind tunnel test. The sectional model was spring-supported in a single degree of freedom (SDOF) in torsion, and it is found that the amplitude of the free vibration cylinder model was not divergent in the post-flutter stage and was instead of various stable amplitudes varying with the wind speed. The amplitude-dependent aerodynamic damping is determined using Hilbert Transform of response time histories at different wind speeds in a smooth flow. An approach is proposed to extract aerodynamic derivatives as nonlinear functions of the amplitude of torsional motion at various reduced wind speeds. The results show that the magnitude of A2*, which is related to the negative aerodynamic damping, increases with increasing wind speed but decreases with vibration amplitude, and the magnitude of A3* also increases with increasing wind speed but keeps stable with the changing amplitude. The amplitude-dependent aerodynamic derivatives derived from the tests can also be used to estimate the post-flutter response of 5:1 rectangular cylinders with different dynamic parameters via traditional flutter analysis.

An overall wind shielding program for enhancing driving stability (강풍시 도로의 주행안정성을 확보하기 위한 종합적인 방풍대책)

  • Kwon, Soon Duck;Jeong, Un Yong
    • Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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    • v.17 no.3 s.76
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    • pp.263-270
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    • 2005
  • This paper presents a program for protecting vehicles against side winds on highways. The present study consists of three processes. The first one involves giving a guideline for evaluating driving safety in high winds. The second one involves making a guideline for determining the necessity of wind protection system for a certain road area. A reasonable procedure is suggested based on the probability model of wind data on weather stations and the correction of local topographical conditions. The third one involves design of wind barriers. Both CFD analyses and wind tunnel tests were performed to find the proper type of wind barrier considering vehicle controllability, structural safety, economical efficiency as well as driver's visibility. Performance of the designed wind fences was verified from field tests. The performance of the four different types of wind barrier installed at the elevated bridge were tested and some of the results were provided.

Galloping analysis of stranded electricity conductors in skew winds

  • Macdonald, J.H.G.;Griffiths, P.J.;Curry, B.P.
    • Wind and Structures
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    • v.11 no.4
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    • pp.303-321
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    • 2008
  • When first commissioned, the 1.6 km span 275kV Severn Crossing Conductor experienced large amplitude vibrations in certain wind conditions, but without ice or rain, leading to flashover between the conductor phases. Wind tunnel tests undertaken at the time identified a major factor was the lift generated in the critical Reynolds number range in skew winds. Despite this insight, and although a practical solution was found by wrapping the cable to change the aerodynamic profile, there remained some uncertainty as to the detailed excitation mechanism. Recent work to address the problem of dry inclined cable galloping on cable-stayed bridges has led to a generalised quasi-steady galloping formulation, including effects of the 3D geometry and changes in the static force coefficients in the critical Reynolds number range. This generalised formulation has been applied to the case of the Severn Crossing Conductor, using data of the static drag and lift coefficients on a section of the stranded cable, from the original wind tunnel tests. Time history analysis has then been used to calculate the amplitudes of steady state vibrations for comparison with the full scale observations. Good agreement has been obtained between the analysis and the site observations, giving increased confidence in the applicability of the generalised galloping formulation and providing insight into the mechanism of galloping of yawed and stranded cables. Application to other cable geometries is also discussed.

Mean wind loads on T-shaped angle transmission towers

  • Guohui Shen;Kanghui Han;Baoheng Li;Jianfeng Yao
    • Wind and Structures
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    • v.38 no.5
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    • pp.367-379
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    • 2024
  • Compared with traditional transmission towers, T-shaped angle towers have long cross-arms and are specially used for ultrahigh-voltage direct-current (UHVDC) transmission. Nevertheless, the wind loads of T-shaped towers have not received much attention in previous studies. Consequently, a series of wind tunnel tests on the T-shaped towers featuring cross-arms of varying lengths were conducted using the high-frequency force balance (HFFB) technique. The test results reveal that the T-shaped tower's drag coefficients nearly remain constant at different testing velocities, demonstrating that Reynolds number effects are negligible in the test range of 1.26 × 104-2.30 × 104. The maximum values of the longitudinal base shear and torsion of the T-shaped tower are reached at 15° and 25° of wind incidence, respectively. In the yaw angle, the crosswind coefficients of the tower body are quite small, whereas those of the cross-arms are significant, and as a result, the assumption in some load codes (such as ASCE 74-2020, IEC 60826-2017 and EN 50341-1:2012) that the resultant force direction is the same as the wind direction may be inappropriate for the cross-arm situation. The fitting formulas for the wind load-distribution factors of the tower body and cross-arms are developed, respectively, which would greatly facilitate the determination of the wind loads on T-shaped angle towers.

Store Separation Analysis of a Fighter Aircraft's External Fuel Tank

  • Cho, Hwan-Kee;Kang, Chi-Hang;Jang, Young-Il;Lee, Sang-Hyun;Kim, Kwang-Yeon
    • International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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    • v.11 no.4
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    • pp.345-350
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    • 2010
  • The repetitive vibrating action of an aerodynamic load causes an external fuel tank's horizontal fin to experience a shorter life cycle than its originally predicted one. Store separation analysis is needed to redesign the fin of an external fuel tank. In this research, free-drop tests were conducted using 15% scaled models in a subsonic wind tunnel in order to analyze the store separation characteristics of an external fuel tank. The store separation trajectory based on grid tests was also obtained to verify the results of the free-drop tests. The results acquired from the free-drop tests correlated well with the grid tests in regards to the trajectories and behavior of the stores separated from the aircraft. This agreement was especially noted in the early stages of the store separation.

Will CFD ever Replace Wind Tunnels for Building Wind Simulations?

  • Phillips, Duncan A.;Soligo, Michael J.
    • International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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    • v.8 no.2
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    • pp.107-116
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    • 2019
  • The use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is becoming an increasingly popular means to model wind flows in and around buildings. The first published application of CFD to both indoor and outdoor building airflows was in the 1970's. Since then, CFD usage has expanded to include different aspects of building design. Wind tunnel testing (WTT) on buildings for wind loads goes back as far as 1908. Gustave Eiffel built a pair of wind tunnels in 1908 and 1912. Using these he published wind loads on an aircraft hangar in 1919 as cited in Hoerner (1965 - page 74). The second of these wind tunnels is still in use today for tests including building design ($Damljanovi{\acute{c}}$, 2012). The Empire State Building was tested in 1933 in smooth flow - see Baskaran (1993). The World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York City were wind tunnel tested in the mid-sixties for both wind loads, at Colorado State University (CSU) and the [US] National Physical Laboratory (NPL), as well as pedestrian level winds (PLW) at the University of Western Ontario (UWO) - Baskaran (1993). Since then, the understanding of the planetary boundary layer, recognition of the structures of turbulent wakes, instrumentation, methodologies and analysis have been continuously refined. There is a drive to replace WTT with computational methods, with the rationale that CFD is quicker, less expensive and gives more information and control to the architects. However, there is little information available to building owners and architects on the limitations of CFD for flows around buildings and communities. Hence building owners, developers, engineers and architects are not aware of the risks they incur by using CFD for different studies, traditionally conducted using wind tunnels. This paper will explain what needs to happen for CFD to replace wind tunnels. Ultimately, we anticipate the reader will come to the same conclusion that we have drawn: both WTT and CFD will continue to play important roles in building and infrastructure design. The most pressing challenge for the design and engineering community is to understand the strengths and limitations of each tool so that they can leverage and exploit the benefits that each offers while adhering to our moral and professional obligation to hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public.