Wind tunnel tests of effects of atmospheric stability on turbulent flow over a three-dimensional hill

This paper presents a wind tunnel study on the turbulent structure of the airflow around a three-dimensional hill model placed in a boundary-layer flow. The effect of atmospheric stability: stable, neutral and unstable on the flow field of the boundary layer is examined. The wind velocity is measured with a three-dimensional laser doppler anemometer (LDA). Measurements analysis includes mean velocity, turbulent velocity, Reynolds stress and turbulence energy profiles around the hill. The main results are as follows: (1) The mean wind velocity does not vary with the stability at the hilltop; it reaches a maximum at the back of the hill, for the unstable case. (2) The turbulent velocity at the back of the hill reaches its peak value at the height of the hilltop. It takes maximum value for the stable boundary layer flow, and become smaller for the neutral flow and the unstable flow. Buoyancy production has little effect on the turbulence energy. (3) A clear peak of /U_H² is observed at a height near Z/H=1. The peak value becomes the largest for the stable case and the smallest for the unstable case.     

Drag coefficients and Strouhal numbers of a port crane boom girder section

This work reports the drag coefficients (C_d) for three wind directions measured in low turbulence flow and in turbulent flow with characteristics of the atmospheric boundary layer wind, and the Strouhal numbers (St) of an approximately trapezoidal flanged section, used in the boom girder of a 100 m high port crane. These experimental results were obtained at the Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel of the Dept. Aeronautica at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata, in the range of Reynolds numbers between 30,000 and 180,000. The drag coefficients in the three studied directions showed a reduction for turbulent flow. Further measurements were carried out for the model with an inclination of 80° relative to the flow direction, the position of the crane boom when out of service, giving practically the same drag coefficients.     

Flow reattachment on the roof of a 6 m cube

Five ultrasonic anemometers are used to measure flow velocities above the roof of a 6 m cube and at a reference point upstream. Various analysis techniques are applied to the data in order to illustrate the differences between: the mean reattachment position when the mean wind is normal to the windward face (0°), which is at x/h≈0.6; the median instantaneous reattachment position at x/h=0.66 and the reattachment position that would occur if the wind direction was held at a constant 0°, which is at x/h=0.75 and is also the position of zero conditionally averaged u velocity at instants when the v velocity is zero. It is also shown that the flow is highly unsteady and that the reattachment length varies from negligible separation to no reattachment, which occurs for 20% of the time. Some of these variations are related to fluctuations in the onset wind speed and direction, but they are also influenced by the dynamic response of the separation vortex system. The formation and shedding of vortices means that certain frequencies in the turbulence spectrum, around 1 Hz, are slightly amplified, whereas frequencies above 10 Hz are filtered out as a result of the inertia of the vortex system. The effects of reattachment length on the pressure distribution are briefly considered but it is shown that these do not account for the differences between the Silsoe field data and typical wind-tunnel results. It is suggested that the pressure differences may be related to Reynolds number, but it appears that this is not associated with changes in reattachment length.     

A computational model to calculate the flow-induced pressure fluctuations on buildings

A computational model to predict the flow-induced pressure fluctuation on bluff bodies is presented. Unlike direct and large-eddy simulation, the present model employs a stochastic model to generate plausible velocity fluctuations (synthetic turbulence) that satisfy the mean turbulent quantities such as turbulent kinetic energy (k) and dissipation energy rate (ε). This model has three main components: (1) prediction of mean flow quantities by solving the 3D Navier-Stokes equations using the standard k-ε model with Kato and Launder modifications; (2) generating a synthetic turbulent velocity field using a stochastic model and finally (3) solving the Poisson equation that governs the pressure fluctuations field. Flow around the low-rise building at Texas Tech was analyzed using the developed model. Two different wind angles of attack are considered for the analysis. Results obtained using the developed model are compared with wind tunnel and field measurements. The computed rms values for pressure fluctuations show good agreement with the experimental results.     

Vortex-induced vibration tests of circular cylinders connected with typical joints in transmission towers

Vortex-induced vibration (VIV) tests on full-scale cylinders are undertaken to study the vibration performance of steel tubes connected with typical joints in transmission towers, including [-shaped gusset plate connection, U-shaped gusset plate connection, cross-gusset connection and the flange. Due to the asymmetric flexural stiffness for the cross section of the [-shaped or U-shaped gusset plate, VIV is only generated about the minor axis. The paper presents the relationship between the slenderness ratio and the occurrence wind speed of VIV about the minor axis. Moreover, it has been shown that VIV can occur not only in laminar flows, but also in turbulent flows, and the amplitude decreases as the turbulence intensity rises. The amplitude is affected by the wind attack angle, and drops as the wind attack angle decreases. It is revealed that for the cylinders connected with [-shaped gusset plates with the slenderness ratio of 100∼200, the value of Strouhal number ranges from 0.20 to 0.21and the reduced velocity from 5.0 to 5.5.     

Numerical simulation of the wind field around different building arrangements

A numerical model with the RNG κ−ε turbulence closure model and a pressure correction algorithm of SIMPLEC is used to examine three different building configuration effects on wind flow. Comparisons of computational results with experimental data have been carried out for the vertical velocity profiles at some measurement points. For the experimental study, the building arrangements were presented by 1:150 scale models and tested in a low-speed wind tunnel. It was found that the wind environment for two improved arrangements with lower interval-to-height ratio is better than that for the reference layout with higher aspect ratio in terms of the natural ventilation. The interference effect is more obvious for two improved arrangements than the reference one. The numerical results also show that changing wind direction from perpendicular to the building facades to a 45°-incidence angle has significant effect on the flow field for different configurations.     

Turbulence effects on the discharge coefficient and mean flow rate of wind-driven cross-ventilation

This experimental study uses a wind tunnel and scale model to investigate turbulence effects on the discharge coefficient and mean flow rate of wind-driven cross-ventilation. The approaching flows include low turbulence smooth flow and grid-generated turbulent flow. Two different cross-ventilation configurations are considered in this study: (1) two opposite walls, each with one opening, and (2) two adjacent walls, each with one opening. The discharge coefficients of different flow conditions are determined by a fan technique. It is found that the discharge coefficient is a function of Reynolds number, wind incidence angle and direction of air flow (inhale or exhale), but independent of external turbulence intensity and wall porosity. However, because the leeward pressure is affected by external turbulence, the internal pressure and inlet velocity are dependent on external turbulence when the openings are on the opposite walls. The experimental results also verify that internal pressure and mean air flow rate can be predicted once the external pressure distribution and opening areas are known, regardless of whether the openings are on opposite walls or on adjacent walls.     

Wind structure in a rural atmospheric boundary layer near the ground

This paper describes mean velocity, turbulence intensity, Reynolds stresses and co-spectra measured during field experiments. The data were obtained using orthogonal arrays of propeller anemometers mounted on a 20 m tower. Data were recorded only when the wind speed was ～ 10 m s^?1 or higher, and the boundary layer was therefore assumed to be neutrally stable.Values of ?_uw (0) calculated both by the eddy correlation technique and from the velocity profile were found to agree well, and also to agree well with values suggested in the literature review of Counihan [1].     

Simulation of mean flow and turbulence over a 2D building array using high-resolution CFD and a distributed drag force approach

A numerical simulation has been performed of the disturbed flow through and over a two-dimensional array of rectangular buildings immersed in a neutrally stratified deep rough-walled turbulent boundary-layer flow. The model used for the simulation was the steady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with linear and non-linear eddy viscosity formulations for the Reynolds stresses. The eddy viscosity was determined using a high-Reynolds number form of the k-ε turbulence-closure model with the boundary conditions at the wall obtained with a standard wall-function approach. The resulting system of partial differential equations was solved using the SIMPLE algorithm in conjunction with a non-orthogonal, colocated, cell-centered, finite volume procedure. The predictive capabilities of the high-resolution computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of urban flow are validated against a very detailed and comprehensive wind tunnel data set. Vertical profiles of the mean streamwise velocity and the turbulence kinetic energy are presented and compared to those measured in the wind tunnel simulation.It is found that the performance of all the turbulence models investigated is generally good—most of the qualitative features in the disturbed turbulent flow field through and over the building array are correctly reproduced. The quantitative agreement is also fairly good (especially for the mean velocity field). Overall, the non-linear k-ε model gave the best performance among four different turbulence closure models examined. The turbulence energy levels within the street canyons and in the exit region downstream of the last building were underestimated by all four turbulence closure models. This appears to contradict the ‘stagnation point anomaly’ associated with the standard k-ε model which is a result of the excessive turbulence energy production due to normal straining. A possible explanation for this is the inability of the present models to account properly for the effects of secondary strains on the turbulence and/or for the effects of large-scale flapping of the strong shear layer at the canopy top.The results of the high-resolution CFD simulations have been used to diagnose values of the drag coefficient to be used in a distributed drag force representation of the obstacles in the array. Comparisons of the measured spatially-averaged time-mean mean velocity and turbulence kinetic energy in the array with predictions of the disturbed flow using the distributed drag force approach have been made.     

Flow around a cube in a turbulent boundary layer: LES and experiment

We present a numerical simulation of flow around a surface mounted cube placed in a turbulent boundary layer which, although representing a typical wind environment, has been specifically tailored to match a series of wind tunnel observations. The simulations were carried out at a Reynolds number, based on the velocity U at the cube height h, of 20,000—large enough that many aspects of the flow are effectively Reynolds number independent. The turbulence intensity was about 18% at the cube height, and the integral length scale was about 0.8 times the cube height h. The Jenson number Je=h/z₀, based on the approach flow roughness length z₀, was 600, to match the wind tunnel situation. The computational mesh was uniform with a spacing of h/32, aiding rapid convergence of the multigrid solver, and the governing equations were discretised using second-order finite differences within a parallel multiblock environment. The results presented include detailed comparison between measurements and LES computations of both the inflow boundary layer and the flow field around the cube including mean and fluctuating surface pressures. It is concluded that provided properly formulated inflow and surface boundary conditions are used, LES is now a viable tool for use in wind engineering problems concerning flow over isolated bodies. In particular, both mean and fluctuating surface pressures can be obtained with a similar degree of uncertainty as usually associated with wind tunnel modelling.     

Evaluating the influence of the width of inlet slot on the prediction of indoor airflow: Comparison with experimental data

The aim of this work is to investigate the influence of two values of inlet slot width on the velocity characteristics and turbulent intensity of the airflow inside a rectangular room. The experimental data used to check the numerical results concerns a rectangular room where the air is supplied horizontally on the upper left and is exhausted through an opening on the lower right on the opposite side. The performance of three turbulence models, standard k-?, RNG k-?, and k-ω, in predicting the three-dimensional airflow in that room has also been investigated. The results for Reynolds number of 5000 are presented for dimensionless horizontal velocities and turbulent kinetic energy for two planes of the room and two inlet arrangements, one opening as large as the room and another with half of the width of the room. The results have indicated that the main features of the flow were captured by the three turbulence models investigated. On the whole, the performance of the standard k-? model was better than those of the other two turbulence models. In particular, the k-ω model performed better in the configuration with the largest air opening than in that with the smallest one, while the RNG k-? model presented the opposite behavior. The comparative study between both geometries demonstrated that for slots much smaller than the width of the room, three-dimensional effects become important.     

A parametric study of the galloping stability of two-dimensional triangular cross-section bodies

One of the classical aeroelastic instabilities of slender structures is galloping, which can be characterized as a low-frequency, large-amplitude normal to the flow oscillations phenomenon.In this paper the effects of cross-sectional shape and mean wind angle of incidence on the transverse galloping stability (according to the Glauert-Den Hartog criterion for galloping instability) of triangular cross-section bodies has been systematically analyzed through static wind tunnel experiments. Nine triangular cross-section models were tested, the angle at the main vertex, β, ranging from 10° to 90°. In addition, three additional models having rounded corners have been tested, to check the impact of a modification in windward corners in modifying the flow pattern around the cross-section, facilitating eventually the reattachment of the boundary layer and narrowing therefore the width of the wake. Static tests confirm that the stability to transverse translational galloping of triangular cross-section cylinders are both cross-sectional geometry and angle of attack dependent, the potential unstable zones in the angle of attack-main vertex angle plane (α,β) being identified.     

A new method to calculate wind profile parameters of the wind tunnel boundary layer

This paper introduces a new method to process wind profile data of simulated atmospheric boundary layer flows in the wind tunnel so as to obtain the two important wind profile parameters—the surface roughness length z₀ and the friction velocity u_*. Instead of using the wind speed profile, the turbulent intensity profile of the turbulent surface layer, which is measured with a single probe hot-wire anemometer, is used to calculate the surface roughness length z₀. Then, the calculated surface roughness length z₀ is substituted into the mean wind speed profile of the constant flux layer to calculate friction velocity u_*. From our results this method is better than the simple regression method using the wind speed profile, which has been widely used.     

Numerical investigation on the three-dimensional unsteady flow past a 5:1 rectangular cylinder

This paper deals with the three-dimensional simulation of the unsteady flow around a stationary 5:1 rectangular cylinder at zero-degree angle of attack, low Mach number (M_∞=0.1) and high Reynolds number (Re=26,400, based on the plate thickness). Detached-Eddy Simulation (DES) was adopted as strategy of turbulence modeling. Results obtained with a hybrid mesh show satisfactory agreement when validated against experimental data and other computational results from the literature. Particular attention is devoted to the effects of the spanwise extension of the computational domain. Results show that the common choice of a spanwise period equal to the chord of the cylinder might not be enough to allow the natural loss of correlation of the pressure fluctuations and the free development of large-scale turbulent structures. The key role played by the amount of numerical dissipation, which is introduced by the second-order central difference scheme used to discretize the inviscid fluxes in the governing equations, is highlighted. The promising results obtained with DES for this benchmark test case suggest that this hybrid method is well suited for complex problems of high-Reynolds number bluff body aerodynamics and fluid-structure coupling.     

深圳市建筑室内外脉动风特性实测研究

利用现场实测的方法对深圳市某办公建筑室内外的自然风脉动特性进行研究,经实测数据的统计分析,得到建筑室内外的平均风速、湍流强度、湍流积分尺度及湍流的谱特性等脉动风特性.分析结果表明：处在建筑群冠层的平均风速、湍流积分尺度、湍流能量要高于城市密集层的值;建筑室内出风口的湍流强度比进风口处的略大,说明出风口处的脉动特征较为明显;建筑室内的进、出风口振幅能量不同,而频率波动的近似一致性,说明风的振动频率随着空间尺度稳定传递.     

Numerical studies on air flow around a cube

In this paper, air approach flow moving towards a cube will be studied using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The Reynolds Averaging of Navier-Stokes (RANS) equation types of k-ε turbulence model are used. Some RANS predicted results are compared with different upstream air speeds. Flow separation at the corner above the top of the cube, level of separation and reattachment are investigated. Reference is made to the experimental data on wind tunnels reported in the literature.A method similar to ‘recirculation bubble promoter’ is used for different approach flow speed distributions. Problems encountered in numerical simulations due to the sharp corner are discussed with a view to obtaining better prediction on recirculation flow in regions above the top of the cube. Correlations between the turbulent kinetic energy above the cube and the recirculation bubble size are derived for different distributions of approach flow speed.By limiting the longitudinal velocities in the first cell adjacent to the sharp edge of the cube or rib, and making good use of the wall functions at the intersection cells of the velocity components, positions of maximum turbulent kinetic energy and the flow separation and reattachment can be predicted by a standard k-ε model. The results agree with those obtained in the experiments.     

Numerical calculation of turbulent flow around two-dimensional hills

Predictions are presented of the two-dimensional turbulent flow around a hill; the two-dimensional Reynolds equations are written in an orthogonal curvilinear coordinate system and transformed to finite difference form after discretisation in physical space. Turbulence is simulated by the $\text{κ??}$ model of turbulence; the first part of the paper compares predictions with available laboratory data; in the second part the results of the developed method are compared with results of other numerical methods; therefore, the validity of the method, its flexibility to treat any hill shape and its reliability compared to other methods is assessed.     

风力机叶片周边瞬态风场的混合数值模拟

本文根据已有的三维瞬态风场混合数值模拟方法,首先利用k-ε湍流模型对风力发电机叶片周边的时均湍流场进行CFD数值模拟,用ESDU推荐的方法计算了叶片附近的Reynolds应力张量,并修正叶片周边风场的脉动风功率谱密度函数。基于随机流场生成方法逐点模拟了叶片周边的三维脉动风速场,为今后进行叶片脉动荷载的求解奠定了基础。