Wind tunnel test and CFD simulation of the near-roof wind speed and friction velocity on gable roofs

Abstract

In this paper, wind tunnel tests and CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulations are conducted to measure and simulate the near-roof wind speed and friction velocity on gable roofs. By comparing the results of Irwin sensor wind tunnel tests with CFD simulations of different turbulence models, it is found that the Realizable k-ε turbulence model performs better. The CFD simulations and wind tunnel tests show that the mean near-roof wind speed and the mean friction velocity on the windward and leeward gable roofs have the same variation trend with the slope. Moreover, the mean near-roof wind speed and the mean friction velocity reach the maximum on the windward roof when the slope is 20°, the mean wind speed and the mean friction velocity on the leeward roof decrease with the increase of the slope. Finally, based on the snow transport rate on the windward roof with different slopes, it can be obtained that the snow transport rate on the windward gable roof with 20° is the largest among the four slopes selected in this paper. Meanwhile, when the roof slope is 20°, it is most likely to lead to the unbalanced snow load on the windward side and leeward side.