Large eddy simulation of wind effects on a long-span complex roof structure

This paper presents a combined study of numerical simulations and wind tunnel tests for the determinations of wind effects on a long-span complex roof of the Shenzhen New Railway Station Building. The main objective of this study is to present an effective approach for the estimations of wind effects on a complex roof by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques. A new inflow turbulence generator called the discretizing and synthesizing random flow generation (DSRFG) approach was applied to simulate inflow boundary conditions of a turbulent flow field. A new one-equation dynamic subgrid scale (SGS) model was adopted for the large eddy simulations (LES) of wind effects on the station building. The wind-induced pressures on the roof and turbulent flow fields around the station building were thus calculated based upon the DSRFG approach and the new SGS model integrated with the FLUENT software. In parallel with the numerical investigation, simultaneous pressure measurements on the entire station building were made in a boundary layer wind tunnel to determine the mean, fluctuating, and peak pressure coefficient distributions. The numerically predicted results were found to be consistent with the wind tunnel test data. The comparative study demonstrated that the recommended inflow turbulence generation technique and the new SGS model as well as the associated numerical treatments are useful tools for structural engineers to assess wind effects on long-span complex roofs and irregularly shaped buildings at the design stage.