• Wind and Structures
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.197-207
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• 2020

Knowledge on the design value of extreme wind pressure coefficients (EWPC) of a specific zone of buildings is essential for the wind-resistant capacity of claddings. This paper presents a method to estimate the representative EWPC introducing the multivariate extreme value model. The spatial correlations of the extreme wind pressures at different locations can be consider through the multivariate extreme value. The moving average method is also adopted in this method, so that the measured point pressure can be converted to wind pressure of an area. The proposed method is applied to wind tunnel test results of a large flat roof building. Comparison with existing methods shows that it can give a good estimation for all target zones with different sizes.

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

• Wind and Structures
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.15-33
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• 2014

This paper describes partial turbulence simulation and validation of the aerodynamic pressures on building models for an open-jet small-scale 12-Fan Wall of Wind (WOW) facility against their counterparts in a boundary-layer wind tunnel. The wind characteristics pertained to the Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) mean wind speed profile and turbulent fluctuations simulated in the facility. Both in the wind tunnel and the small-scale 12-Fan WOW these wind characteristics were produced by using spires and roughness elements. It is emphasized in the paper that proper spectral density parameterization is required to simulate turbulent fluctuations correctly. Partial turbulence considering only high frequency part of the turbulent fluctuations spectrum was simulated in the small-scale 12-Fan WOW. For the validation of aerodynamic pressures a series of tests were conducted in both wind tunnel and the small-scale 12-fan WOW facilities on low-rise buildings including two gable roof and two hip roof buildings with two different slopes. Testing was performed to investigate the mean and peak pressure coefficients at various locations on the roofs including near the corners, edges, ridge and hip lines. The pressure coefficients comparisons showed that open-jet testing facility flows with partial simulations of ABL spectrum are capable of inducing pressures on low-rise buildings that reasonably agree with their boundary-layer wind tunnel counterparts.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.119-158
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• 2015

The characteristics of the coherence functions of X axial, Y axial, and RZ axial (i.e., body axis) wind forces on the Shanghai World Trade Centre - a 492 m super-tall building with section varying along height are studied via a synchronous multi-pressure measurement of the rigid model in wind tunnel simulating of the turbulent, and the corresponding mathematical expressions are proposed there from. The investigations show that the mathematical expressions of coherence functions in across-wind and torsional-wind directions can be constructed by superimposition of a modified exponential decay function and a peak function caused by turbulent flow and vortex shedding respectively, while that in along-wind direction need only be constructed by the former, similar to that of wind speed. Moreover, an inductive analysis method is proposed to summarize the fitted parameters of the wind force coherence functions of every two measurement levels of altitudes. The comparisons of the first three order generalized force spectra show that the proposed mathematical expressions accord with the experimental results well. Later, the influences of coherence functions on wind-induced dynamic responses are analyzed in detail based on the proposed mathematical expressions and the frequency-domain method of random vibration theory.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.75 no.4
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• pp.487-496
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• 2020

Most of the previous works on numerical analysis of galloping of transmission lines are generally based on the quasisteady theory. However, some wind tunnel tests of the rectangular section or hangers of suspension bridges have shown that the galloping phenomenon has a strong unsteady characteristic and the test results are quite different from the quasi-steady calculation results. Therefore, it is necessary to check the applicability of the quasi-static theory in galloping analysis of the ice-covered transmission line. Although some limited unsteady simulation researches have been conducted on the variation of parameters such as aerodynamic damping, aerodynamic coefficients with wind speed or wind attack angle, there is a need to investigate the numerical simulation of unsteady galloping of two-dimensional iced transmission line with comparison to wind tunnel test results. In this paper, it is proposed to conduct a two dimensional (2-D) unsteady numerical analysis of ice-covered transmission line galloping. First, wind tunnel tests of a typical crescent-shapes iced conductor are conducted firstly to check the subsequent quasisteady and unsteady numerical analysis results. Then, a numerical simulation model consistent with the aeroelastic model in the wind tunnel test is established. The weak coupling methodology is used to consider the fluid-structure interaction in investigating a two-dimension numerical simulation of unsteady galloping of the iced conductor. First, the flow field is simulated to obtain the pressure and velocity distribution of the flow field. The fluid action on the iced conduct at the coupling interface is treated as an external load to the conductor. Then, the movement of the conduct is analyzed separately. The software ANSYS FLUENT is employed and redeveloped to numerically analyze the model responses based on fluid-structure interaction theory. The numerical simulation results of unsteady galloping of the iced conduct are compared with the measured responses of wind tunnel tests and the numerical results by the conventional quasi-steady theory, respectively.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.323-336
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• 2022

This study investigates the applicability of the direct identification of flutter derivatives in the time domain using Rational Function Approximation (RFA), where the extraction procedure requires either a combination of at least two wind speeds or one wind speed. In the frequency domain, flutter derivatives are identified at every wind speed. The ease of identifying flutter derivatives in the time domain creates a paradox because flutter derivative patterns sometimes change in higher-order polynomials. The first step involves a numerical study of RFA extractions for different deck shapes from existing bridges to verify the accurate wind speed combination for the extraction. The second step involves validating numerical simulation results through a wind tunnel experiment using the forced vibration method in one degree of freedom. The findings of the RFA extraction are compared to those obtained using the analytical solution. The numerical study and the wind tunnel experiment results are in good agreement. The results show that the evolution pattern of flutter derivatives determines the accuracy of the direct identification of RFA.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.703-721
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• 2016

This paper presents a wind tunnel study of wind loads of the large billboard structures with two-plate and three-plate configurations. Synchronous dynamic pressures on the surfaces of plates are measured, and the characteristics of local pressures, integrated forces on each individual plate and on the overall structures are investigated. The influences of wind direction and plate configuration on wind load characteristics, and the contributions of overall crosswind load and torque to the stress responses are examined. The results showed that the wind load characteristics of windward plate in both two- and three-plate configurations are very similar. The contribution of overall crosswind load makes the total resultant force from both alongwind and crosswind loads less sensitive to wind direction in the case of three-plate configuration. The overall torque is lower than the value specified in current codes and standards, and its contribution is less significant in both two-plate and three-plate configurations.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.231-251
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• 2016

This paper presents the experimental results of the wind tunnel tests for three symmetric, rectangular, tall building models on a typical open terrain considering the torsional motion-induced vibrations. The time histories of the wind pressure on these models under different reduced wind speeds and torsional amplitudes are obtained through the multiple point synchronous scanning pressure technique. Thereafter, the characteristics of both the Root Mean Square (RMS) coefficients and the spectra of the base shear/torque in the along-wind, across-wind, and torsional directions, respectively, are discussed. The results show that the RMS coefficients of the base shear/torque vary in the three directions with both the reduced wind speeds and the torsional vibration amplitudes. The variation of the RMS coefficients in the along-wind direction results mainly from the change of the aerodynamic forces, but sometimes from aeroelastic effects induced by torsional vibration. However, the variations of the RMS coefficients in the across-wind and torsional directions are caused by more equal weights of both the aerodynamic forces and the aeroelastic effects. As such, for the typical tall buildings, the modification of the aerodynamic forces in the along-wind, across-wind, and torsional directions, respectively, and the aeroelastic effects in the across-wind and torsional directions should be considered. It is identified that the torsional vibration amplitudes and the reduced wind speeds are two significant parameters for the aerodynamic forces on the structures in the three directions.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.17-41
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• 2016

To address the uncertainty of the flight trajectories caused by the turbulence and gustiness of the wind field over the roof and in the wake of a building, a 3-D probabilistic trajectory model of flat-type wind-borne debris is developed in this study. The core of this methodology is a 6 degree-of-freedom deterministic model, derived from the governing equations of motion of the debris, and a Monte Carlo simulation engine used to account for the uncertainty resulting from vertical and lateral gust wind velocity components. The influence of several parameters, including initial wind speed, time step, gust sampling frequency, number of Monte Carlo simulations, and the extreme gust factor, on the accuracy of the proposed model is examined. For the purpose of validation and calibration, the simulated results from the 3-D probabilistic trajectory model are compared against the available wind tunnel test data. Results show that the maximum relative error between the simulated and wind tunnel test results of the average longitudinal position is about 20%, implying that the probabilistic model provides a reliable and effective means to predict the 3-D flight of the plate-type wind-borne debris.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.383-398
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• 2007

The paper describes a study of the effects of structural coupling on the wind-induced response of twin tall buildings connected by a skybridge. Development of a dual high-frequency force balance used in wind tunnel investigation and background information on the methodology employed in analysis are presented. Comparisons of the wind-induced building response (rooftop acceleration) of structurally coupled and uncoupled twin buildings are provided and the influence of structural coupling is assessed. It is found that the adverse aerodynamic interference effects caused by close proximity of the buildings can be significantly reduced by the coupling. Neglecting of such interactions may lead to excessively conservative estimates of the wind-induced response of the buildings. The presented findings suggest that structural coupling should be included in wind-resistant design of twin tall buildings.