Ornament and function

The architects and builders in the past lacked our knowledge concerning fluid dynamics, but they exhibited a deep rooted ability to observe and reflect - thus, different cultures have developed by trial and error. The authors have produced a stimulating analysis which couples the science of fluid dynamics and a sensitive understanding of past cultures. The paper is recommended reading.     

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About the penetration of a horizontal axis cylindrical vortex into the nearby downwind region of a vertical porous fence

Wind tunnel experiments have been conducted on a cylindrical vortex embedded in a low turbulence stationary horizontal stream, running through a two-dimensional narrow vertical woven fence located on the wind tunnel floor.The vortex was continuously generated upwind of the fence by means of a vortex tube located well below the fence top level, with its axis aligned with the mean velocity of the external stream. The fence installed along the entire width of the tunnel had a porosity of 70%. Visualization experiments showed that approaching the fence the vortex moves away from the mean wind direction of the adjacent stream along a rising curved trajectory while the direction of the surrounding mean flow remained nearly horizontal. The results suggest that this deviation could be promoted by the vortex slanting velocity field relative to the fence, which “sees” a fence with much lower optical porosity than the fence perpendicular velocity of the nearby mean flow.The fence top shear layer flow, which dominates the downwind evolution of the mixing layer, appears to be highly sensitive to the presence of this type of vortex. The most energetic changes in the flow due to the presence of the vortex occurred in the mixing layer region. Windbreaks are usually designed in terms of mean velocity, turbulence intensity, geometric dimensions, and porosity. The results presented in this paper suggest that the sheltering ability of a porous fence depend also on the particular flow pattern of the oncoming turbulent structures embedded in the incident wind. The results show the importance for a particular wind sheltering application in knowing a priori at least some aspects of the flow pattern of the most representative turbulent structures of the local wind.     

Ornament and function

The architects and builders in the past lacked our knowledge concerning fluid dynamics, but they exhibited a deep rooted ability to observe and reflect ‐ thus, different cultures have developed by trial and error. The authors have produced a stimulating analysis which couples the science of fluid dynamics and a sensitive understanding of past cultures. The paper is recommended reading.