Numerical determination of wind forces acting on structural elements in the shape of a curved pipe

Abstract

This paper reports the study on development and verification of numerical models and analyzes of flow at high speed around structural elements in the shape of a curved pipe (e.g., a fragment of a water slide). Possibility of engineering estimation of wind forces acting on an object in the shape of a helix is presented, using relationships concerning toroidal and cylindrical elements. Determination of useful engineering parameters (such as aerodynamic forces, pressure distribution, and air velocity field) is presented, impossible to obtain from the existing standard EN 1991-1-4 (the so-called wind standard). For this purpose, flow at high speed around a torus and helix, arranged both near planar surface and high above it, was analyzed. Analyzes begin with the flow around a cylinder. This is the simplest object with a circular cross-section and at the same time the most studied in the literature. Based on this model, more complex models are analyzed: first in the shape of half of a torus, next in the shape of a helix.