Effect of terrain and building structures on the airflow in an airport

Abstract

The aim of this study was to perform computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations on the airflows at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). In particular, the effects of hangar buildings and terrain were studied to explore the effects of turbulence on flying aircraft, especially during landing. The CFD simulation showed that significant differences in wind speeds may occur between the north and the south runways on the western part of the HKIA under typhoon conditions with a strong north to northwesterly wind. Simulation also showed that the hanger buildings between the two runways on the western side and the nearby terrain could be causing the observed difference in the wind speeds. The results also indicated that these obstacles could cause significant wind speed variations at the western end of the south runway. This may affect the operation of landing aircraft. The CFD results for a typical typhoon case were analyzed and found to match the wind data recorded by an aircraft landing that day.