• Title/Summary/Keyword: wind-tunnel in civil engineering

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Flutter performance of central-slotted plate at large angles of attack

  • Tang, Haojun;Li, Yongle;Chen, Xinzhong;Shum, K.M.;Liao, Haili
    • Wind and Structures
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    • v.24 no.5
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    • pp.447-464
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    • 2017
  • The flutter instability is one of the most important themes need to be carefully investigated in the design of long-span bridges. This study takes the central-slotted ideal thin flat plate as an object, and examines the characteristics of unsteady surface pressures of stationary and vibrating cross sections based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The flutter derivatives are extracted from the surface pressure distribution and the critical flutter wind speed of a long span suspension bridge is then calculated. The influences of angle of attack and the slot ratio on the flutter performance of central-slotted plate are investigated. The results show that the critical flutter wind speed reduces with increase in angle of attack. At lower angles of attack where the plate shows the characteristics of a streamlined cross-section, the existence of central slot can improve the critical flutter wind speed. On the other hand, at larger angles of attack, where the plate becomes a bluff body, the existence of central slot further reduces the flutter performance.

Prediction of Aerodynamic Coefficients of Bridges Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (전산유체역학 해석에 의한 교량 단면의 공력 특성값 추정)

  • Hong, Young-Kil
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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    • v.28 no.1
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    • pp.57-62
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    • 2013
  • Aerodynamic characteristics of cross section shape is an important parameter for the wind response and structural stability of long span bridges. Numerical simulation methods have been introduced to estimate the aerodynamic characteristics for more detailed flow analysis and cost saving in place of existing wind tunnel experiment. In this study, the computational fluid dynamics(CFD) simulation and large eddy simulation( LES) technique were used to estimate lift, drag and moment coefficients of four cross sections. The Strouhal numbers were also determined by the fast Fourier transform of time series of the lift coefficient. The values from simulations and references were in a good agreement with average difference of 16.7% in coefficients and 8.5% in the Strouhal numbers. The success of the simulations is expected to attribute to the practical use of numerical estimation in construction engineering and wind load analysis.

Advancing drag crisis of a sphere via the manipulation of integral length scale

  • Moradian, Niloofar;Ting, David S.K.;Cheng, Shaohong
    • Wind and Structures
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    • v.14 no.1
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    • pp.35-53
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    • 2011
  • Spherical object in wind is a common scenario in daily life and engineering practice. The main challenge in understanding the aerodynamics in turbulent wind lies in the multi-aspect of turbulence. This paper presents a wind tunnel study, which focuses on the role of turbulence integral length scale ${\Lambda}$ on the drag of a sphere. Particular turbulent flow conditions were achieved via the proper combination of wind speed, orifice perforated plate, sphere diameter (D) and distance downstream from the plate. The drag was measured in turbulent flow with $2.2{\times}10^4{\leq}Re{\leq}8{\times}10^4$, $0.043{\leq}{\Lambda}/D{\leq}3.24$, and turbulence intensity Tu up to 6.3%. Our results confirmed the general trends of decreasing drag coefficient and critical Reynolds number with increasing turbulence intensity. More interestingly, the unique role of the relative integral length scale has been revealed. Over the range of conditions studied, an integral length of approximately 65% the sphere diameter is most effective in reducing the drag.

A simplified vortex model for the mechanism of vortex-induced vibrations in a streamlined closed-box girder

  • Hu, Chuanxin;Zhao, Lin;Ge, Yaojun
    • Wind and Structures
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    • v.32 no.4
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    • pp.309-319
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    • 2021
  • The vortex-drift pattern over a girder surface, actually demonstrating the complex fluid-structure interactions between the structure and surrounding flow, is strongly correlated with the VIVs but has still not been elucidated and may be useful for modeling VIVs. The complex fluid-structure interactions between the structure and surrounding flow are considerably simplified in constructing a vortex model to describe the vortex-drift pattern characterized by the ratio of the vortex-drift velocity to the oncoming flow velocity, considering the aerodynamic work. A spring-suspended sectional model (SSSM) is used to measure the pressure in wind tunnel tests, and the aerodynamic parameters for a typical streamlined closed-box girder are obtained from the spatial distribution of the phase lags between the distributed aerodynamic forces at each pressure point and the vortex-excited forces (VEFs). The results show that the ratio of the vortex-drift velocity to the oncoming flow velocity is inversely proportional to the vibration amplitude in the lock-in region and therefore attributed to the "lock-in" phenomena of the VIVs. Installing spoilers on handrails can destroy the regular vortex-drift pattern along the girder surface and thus suppress vertical VIVs.

A new rotational force model for quasi-steady theory of plate-like windborne debris in uniform flow

  • Lin, Huatan;Huang, Peng;Gu, Ming
    • Wind and Structures
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    • v.35 no.2
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    • pp.109-120
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    • 2022
  • The force coefficients of rotating plates in the acceleration stage will vary with rotation rate from 0 to stable rotation rate w0, which are important for quasi-steady theory of plate-like windborne debris to simulate the trajectory. In this paper, a wind tunnel experiment is carried out to study the effects of geometry and the Reynolds number on the variations of mean force coefficients of rotating plates. The rotational lift coefficients are sensitive to both geometry effect and Reynolds number effect, while the rotational drag and moment coefficients are only sensitive to geometry effect. In addition, new empirical formulas for the rotational lift coefficient and moment coefficients are proposed. Its accuracy is verified by comparing the predicted results with existing test data. Based on the experimental data of rotating plates, a new rotational force model for quasi-steady theory, which can be applied to a wider scope, is proposed to calculate the trajectory of plate-like windborne debris. The results show that the new model provides a better match with the tested trajectories than previous quasi-steady theories.

Identification of flutter derivatives of bridge decks using CFD-based discrete-time aerodynamic models

  • Zhu, Zhiwen;Gu, Ming
    • Wind and Structures
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    • v.18 no.3
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    • pp.215-233
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    • 2014
  • This paper presents a method to extract flutter derivatives of bridge decks based on a combination of the computational fluid dynamics (CFD), system simulations and system identifications. The incompressible solver adopts an Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) formulation with the finite volume discretization in space. The imposed sectional motion in heaving or pitching relies on exponential time series as input, with aerodynamic forces time histories acting on the section evaluated as output. System identifications are carried out to fit coefficients of the inputs and outputs of ARMA models, as to establish discrete-time aerodynamic models. System simulations of the established models are then performed as to obtain the lift and moment exerting on the sections to a sinusoidal displacement. It follows that flutter derivatives are identified. The present approaches are applied to a hexagon thin plate and a real bridge deck. The results are compared to the Theodorsen closed-form solution and those from wind tunnel tests. Satisfactory agreements are observed.

Study of central buckle effects on flutter of long-span suspension bridges

  • Han, Yan;Li, Kai;Cai, C.S.
    • Wind and Structures
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    • v.31 no.5
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    • pp.403-418
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    • 2020
  • To investigate the effects of central buckles on the dynamic behavior and flutter stability of long-span suspension bridges, four different connection options between the main cable and the girder near the mid-span position of the Aizhai Bridge were studied. Based on the flutter derivatives obtained from wind tunnel tests, formulations of self-excited forces in the time domain were obtained using a nonlinear least square fitting method and a time-domain flutter analysis was realized. Subsequently, the influences of the central buckles on the critical flutter velocity, flutter frequency, and three-dimensional flutter states of the bridge were investigated. The results show that the central buckles can significantly increase the frequency of the longitudinal floating mode of the bridge and have greater influence on the frequencies of the asymmetric lateral bending mode and asymmetric torsion mode than on that of the symmetric ones. As such, the central buckles have small impact on the critical flutter velocity due to that the flutter mode of the Aizhai Bridge was essentially the symmetric torsion mode coupled with the symmetric vertical mode. However, the central buckles have certain impact on the flutter mode and the three-dimensional flutter states of the bridge. In addition, it is found that the phenomenon of complex beat vibrations (called intermittent flutter phenomenon) appeared in the flutter state of the bridge when the structural damping is 0 or very low.

Computational evaluation of wind loads on a standard tall building using LES

  • Dagnew, Agerneh K.;Bitsuamlak, Girma T.
    • Wind and Structures
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    • v.18 no.5
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    • pp.567-598
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    • 2014
  • In this paper, wind induced aerodynamic loads on a standard tall building have been evaluated through large-eddy simulation (LES) technique. The flow parameters of an open terrain were recorded from the downstream of an empty boundary layer wind tunnel (BLWT) and used to prescribe the transient inlet boundary of the LES simulations. Three different numerically generated inflow boundary conditions have been investigated to assess their suitability for LES. A high frequency pressure integration (HFPI) approach has been employed to obtain the wind load. A total of 280 pressure monitoring points have been systematically distributed on the surfaces of the LES model building. Similar BLWT experiments were also done to validate the numerical results. In addition, the effects of adjacent buildings were studied. Among the three wind field generation methods (synthetic, Simirnov's, and Lund's recycling method), LES with perturbation from the synthetic random flow approach showed better agreement with the BLWT data. In general, LES predicted peak wind loads comparable with the BLWT data, with a maximum difference of 15% and an average difference of 5%, for an isolated building case and however higher estimation errors were observed for cases where adjacent buildings were placed in the vicinity of the study building.

Dynamic behaviour of high-sided road vehicles subject to a sudden crosswind gust

  • Xu, Y.L.;Guo, W.H.
    • Wind and Structures
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    • v.6 no.5
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    • pp.325-346
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    • 2003
  • High-sided road vehicles are susceptible to a sharp-edged crosswind gust, which may cause vehicle accidents such as overturning, excessive sideslip, or exaggerated rotation. This paper thus investigates the dynamic behaviour and possible accidents of high-sided road vehicles entering a sharp-edged crosswind gust with road surface roughness and vehicle suspension included. The high-sided road vehicle is modelled as a combination of several rigid bodies connected by a series of springs and dampers in both vertical and lateral directions. The random roughness of road surface is generated from power spectral density functions for various road conditions. The empirical formulae derived from wind tunnel test results are employed to determine aerodynamic forces and moments acting on the vehicle. After the governing equations of motion are established, an extensive computation work is performed to examine the effects of road surface roughness and vehicle suspension on the dynamic behaviour and vehicle accidents. It is demonstrated that for the high-sided road vehicle and wind forces specified in the computation, the accident vehicle speed of the road vehicle running on the road of average condition is relatively smaller than that running on the road of very good condition for a given crosswind gust. The vehicle suspension system should be taken into consideration, and the accident vehicle speed becomes smaller if the vehicle suspension system has softer springs and lighter dampers.