• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.34 no.6
• /
• pp.525-538
• /
• 2022

High-rise wooden pagodas generate large displacement responses under wind action. It is necessary and wise to reduce the wind loads and wind-induced responses on the architectural heritage using artificial plants, which do not damage ancient architecture and increase greenery. This study calculates and analyzes the wind loads and wind-induced responses on the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda, in China, using artificial plants via the finite element analysis (FEA). A three-dimensional wind-loading field was simulated using a wind tunnel test. Wind loads and wind-induced responses, including the displacement and acceleration of the pagoda with and without artificial plants, were analyzed. In addition, three types of tree arrangements were discussed and analyzed using the score method. The results revealed that artificial plants can effectively control wind loads and wind-induced displacements, but the wind-induced accelerations are enlarged to some extent during the process. The height of the tree significantly affected the shelter effects of the structure. The distance of trees from the pagoda and arrangement width of the tree had less influence on shelter effects. This study extends the understanding of the nondestructive method based on artificial plants, for controlling the wind base loads and structural responses of wooden pagodas and preserving architectural heritage via FEA.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.52 no.3
• /
• pp.485-505
• /
• 2014

This study aimed to develop an approach to accurately predict the wind models and wind effects of large wind turbines. The wind-induced vibration characteristics of a 5 MW tower-blade coupled wind turbine system have been investigated in this paper. First, the blade-tower integration model was established, which included blades, nacelle, tower and the base of the wind turbine system. The harmonic superposition method and modified blade element momentum theory were then applied to simulate the fluctuating wind field for the rotor blades and tower. Finally, wind-induced responses and equivalent static wind loads (ESWL) of the system were studied based on the modified consistent coupling method, which took into account coupling effects of resonant modes, cross terms of resonant and background responses. Furthermore, useful suggestions were proposed to instruct the wind resistance design of large wind turbines. Based on obtained results, it is shown from the obtained results that wind-induced responses and ESWL were characterized with complicated modal responses, multi-mode coupling effects, and multiple equivalent objectives. Compared with the background component, the resonant component made more contribution to wind-induced responses and equivalent static wind loads at the middle-upper part of the tower and blades, and cross terms between background and resonant components affected the total fluctuation responses, while the background responses were similar with the resonant responses at the bottom of tower.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.153-178
• /
• 2008

Based on the empirical formulas for power spectra of generalized modal forces and local fluctuating wind forces in across-wind and torsional directions, the wind-induced lateral-torsional coupled response analysis of a representative rectangular tall building was conducted by setting various parameters such as eccentricities in centers of mass and/or rigidity and considering different torsional to lateral stiffness ratios. The eccentricity effects on the lateral-torsional coupled responses of the tall building were studied comprehensively by structural dynamic analysis. Extensive computational results indicated that the torsional responses at the geometric center of the building may be significantly affected by the eccentricities in the centers of mass and/or rigidity. Covariance responses were found to be in the same order of magnitude as the along-wind or across-wind responses in many eccentricity cases, suggesting that the lateral-torsional coupled effects on the overall wind-induced responses can not be neglected for such situations. The calculated results also demonstrated that the torsional motion contributed significantly to the total responses of rectangular tall buildings with mass and/or rigidity eccentricities. It was shown through this study that the framework presented in this paper provides a useful tool to evaluate the wind-induced lateral-torsional coupled responses of rectangular buildings, which will enable structural engineers in the preliminary design stages to assess the serviceability of tall buildings, potential structural vibration problems and the need for a detailed wind tunnel test.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.18 no.6
• /
• pp.599-618
• /
• 2014

In this study, a square rectangular tall building is considered to investigate the effects of turbulence integral length scale and turbulence intensity on the along-wind responses, across-wind responses and torsional responses of the tall building by Large Eddy Simulation (LES). A recently proposed inflow turbulence generator called the discretizing and synthesizing random flow generation (DSRFG) approach is applied to simulate turbulent flow fields. It has been proved that the approach is able to generate a fluctuating turbulent flow field satisfying any given spectrum, desired turbulence intensity and wind speed profiles. Five profiles of turbulence integral length scale and turbulence intensity are respectively generated for the inflow fields by the DSRFG approach for investigating the effects of turbulence integral length scale and turbulence intensity on the wind-induced responses of the tall building. The computational results indicate that turbulence integral length scale does not have significant effect on the along-wind (displacement, velocity and acceleration) responses, across-wind displacement and velocity responses, while the across-wind acceleration and torsional responses vary without a clear rule with the parameter. On the other hand, the along-wind, across-wind and torsional responses increase with the growth of turbulence intensity.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.143-159
• /
• 2021

The 246.8-m-tall Beijing Olympic Tower (BOT) is a new landmark in Beijing City, China. Its unique architectural style with five sub-towers and a large tower crown gives rise to complex dynamic characteristics. Thus, it is wind-sensitive, and a double-stage pendulum tuned mass damper (DPTMD) has been installed for vibration mitigation. In this study, a finite-element analysis of the wind-induced responses of the tower based on full-scale measurement results was performed. First, the structure of the BOT and the full-scale measurement are introduced. According to the measured dynamic characteristics of the BOT, such as the natural frequencies, modal shapes, and damping ratios, an accurate finite-element model (FEM) was established and updated. On the basis of wind measurements, as well as wind-tunnel test results, the wind load on the model was calculated. Then, the wind-induced responses of the BOT with the DPTMD were obtained and compared with the measured responses to assess the numerical wind-induced response analysis method. Finally, the wind-induced serviceability of the BOT was evaluated according to the field measurement results for the wind-induced response and was found to be satisfactory for human comfort.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.48 no.4
• /
• pp.435-453
• /
• 2013

A new computational approach for the rain load on the transmission tower is presented to obtain the responses of system subjected to the wind and rain combined excitations. First of all, according to the similarity theory, the aeroelastic modeling of high-voltage transmission tower is introduced and two kinds of typical aeroelastic models of transmission towers are manufactured for the wind tunnel tests, which are the antelope horn tower and pole tower. And then, a formula for the pressure time history of rain loads on the tower structure is put forward. The dynamic response analyses and experiments for the two kinds of models are carried out under the wind-induced and wind-rain-induced actions with the uniform and turbulent flow. It has been shown that the results of wind-rain-induced responses are bigger than those of only wind-induced responses and the rain load influence on the transmission tower can't be neglected during the strong rainstorm. The results calculated by the proposed method have a good agreement with those by the wind tunnel test. In addition, the wind-rain-induced responses along and across the wind direction are in the same order of response magnitude of towers.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.397-413
• /
• 2017

When bridges are constructed with lower heights from the ground, the formed channel between the deck and the ground will inevitably hinder or accelerate the air flow. This in turn will have an impact on the aerodynamic forces on the deck, which may result in unexpected wind-induced responses of bridges. This phenomenon can be referred to "ground effects." So far, no systematic studies into ground effects on the wind-induced responses of closed box girders have been performed. In this paper, wind tunnel tests have been adopted to study the ground effects on the aerodynamic force coefficients and the wind-induced responses of a closed box girder. In correlation with the heights from the ground in two ground roughness, the aerodynamic force coefficients, the Strouhal number ($S_t$), the vortex-induced vibration (VIV) lock-in phenomena over a range of wind velocities, the VIV maximum amplitudes, the system torsional damping ratio, the flutter derivatives, the critical flutter wind speeds and their variation laws correlated with the heights from the ground of a closed box girder have been presented through wind tunnel tests. The outcomes show that the ground effects make the vortex-induced phenomena occur in advance and adversely affect the flutter stability.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.13 no.6
• /
• pp.499-517
• /
• 2010

Advances in structural materials and construction methods have resulted in flexible and light tall buildings, making an assessment of structural safety during strong wind and serviceability/habitability during comparable medium/weak wind important design criteria. So far, lots of studies on suppressing the wind-induced responses have been carried out for tall buildings with aerodynamic modification. Most of the studies on aerodynamic modification have forced on the corner modification, while the studies on taper and set-back are limited. Changes of sectional shape through taper and set-back can modify the flow pattern around the models, encouraging more 3-dimensionalities, which results in reducing the wind-induced excitations. This paper discusses the characteristics of overturning moments and wind-induced responses of the tall buildings with height variations. The reduction of mean along-wind and fluctuating across-wind overturning moments are apparent in the suburban area than in urban area. A series of the response analyses, the rms displacement responses of the tall buildings with height variations are reduced greatly, while the rms acceleration responses are not necessarily reduced, showing dependences on wind direction.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.26 no.5
• /
• pp.619-629
• /
• 2020

Solar towers, which often has a large aspect ratio and low fundamental natural frequency, were extremely prone to large amplitude of wind-induced vibrations, especially Vortex-Induced Vibration (VIV). A tiny Tuned Mass Damper (TMD) with conveniently adjustable eddy current damping was specially designed and manufactured for elastic wind tunnel tests of a solar tower. A series of numerical simulations by using the COMSOL software were conducted to determine three key parameters, including the thickness of the back iron plate and the conductive plate (T_b and T_c), the distance between the magnet and the conductive plate (T_d). Based on the results of numerical simulations, a tiny TMD was manufactured and its structural parameters were experimentally identified. The optimized values of the tiny TMD can be conveniently realized. The tiny TMD was installed at the top of the elastic test model of a 243-meter-high solar tower, and a series of wind tunnel tests were carried out to examine the effectiveness of the TMD in suppressing wind-induced responses of the test model. The results showed that the wind-induced responses could be obviously reduced by the TMD, especially in the cross-wind direction. The cross-wind RMS and peak responses at the critical wind velocity can be reduced by about 86% and 75%, respectively. However, the maximum reduction of the responses at the design wind velocity is about 45%, obviously less than that at the critical wind velocity.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.85-98
• /
• 2008

In this paper, excitation systems using a linear mass shaker (LMS) and an active tuned mass damper (ATMD) are presented to simulate the wind induced responses of a building structure. The actuator force for the excitation systems is calculated by using the inverse transfer function of a target structural response to the actuator. Filter and envelop functions are used to prevent the actuator from exciting unexpected modal responses and an initial transient response and thus, to minimize the error between the wind and actuator induced responses. The analyses results from a 76-story benchmark building problem for which the wind load obtained by a wind tunnel test is given, indicate that the excitation system installed at a specific floor can approximately reproduce the structural responses induced by the wind load applied to each floor of the structure. The excitation system designed by the proposed method can be effectively used for evaluating the wind response characteristics of a practical building structure and for obtaining an accurate analytical model of the building under wind load.