Abstract
Retractable roofs are commonly used in designing large-span stadiums because of their versatility. However, retractable roofs are subject to sudden changes in shape, and thus, factors in addition to those considered for conventional roofs need to be taken into account. In particular, retractable roofs are considerably more sensitive to snow loads because their shapes are complex, and snowdrift on roofs may lead to difficulties for the operating of retractable roofs. To investigate the distribution of snow on retractable roofs, this study proposes a method based on a numerical simulation of snowdrift obtained using the Euler–Euler method in multiphase flow theory. This numerical model employs a mixture model by using the commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software FLUENT. A suitable turbulence model is selected for the simulation through verification against two-dimensional (2D) data obtained from field measurements reported in previous studies. However, the snow load on retractable roofs cannot be determined by a 2D distribution easily. The accuracy of predicting the overall distribution of snow load on roofs was verified by experiments conducted on a horizontally retractable roof. The results show that a nonuniform snow distribution on such roofs is distinct and should be considered.
Highlights
Frequent snow and ice storms occur all over the world, and the partial structural overload and collapse of the roofs of buildings owing to the unbalanced distribution of snow on them are common
The accuracy of the CFD method in predicting snow distribution was analyzed according to a snowdrift simulation on a stepped roof model
Snow distribution on a typical retractable roof was investigated both by experiments and CFD simulations, and the conclusions drawn from the study are as follows: (i) According to the results of the snowdrift simulation on a stepped roof with different turbulence models, the result obtained by the realizable k-ε model exhibited better agreement with field observations in terms of 2D distribution than other models
Summary
Frequent snow and ice storms occur all over the world, and the partial structural overload and collapse of the roofs of buildings owing to the unbalanced distribution of snow on them are common. Zhou et al [5] applied the CFD-DEM method to simulate the snowdrift on a typical stepped roof in 2D both considering the cohesion and collision between snow particles, and the snow distribution was verified to be similar to that in field measurement and wind tunnel test. Considering the diversity of the shapes of large-span roofs, many scholars have suggested that for such structures with complex roof shapes, both numerical simulations and wind tunnel tests should be carried out to determine the coefficient of snow distribution. Is study focuses on snow loads on a typical horizontally retractable roof, which was widely used in long-span roof structures as shown, and only the “closed” state of the retractable roof is considered because buildings should be generally covered when it is snowing. Distributions of snow on two other typical retractable roofs were investigated using the CFD method
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
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
