Abstract
Abstract This study was conducted to characterize air flow over the study areas through simulation using a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software, ANSYS Fluent 15.0 and validating them with the actual air measurements using a meteorological balloon system. The study has found that the appropriate setting for upstream aerodynamic surface roughness (z0) was at 0.5 m (90% accuracy) for the sunflower vegetated area and at 0.1 m (85% accuracy) for the area on the mountain covered with small plants and sparse trees. The study, has also demonstrated that the use of CFD and a meteorological balloon system could improve operational parameterizations of z0, suggesting that they are applicable for use to carry out full scale atmosphere-surface simulation models for characterizing air flow over a mountain and nearby areas. Additionally, the use of CFD predicted values were also discussed in identifying unsafe areas for maneuvering helicopters.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call