Atmospheric Boundary Layer Wind Research Articles

Field measurements of wind load effects in a photovoltaic single-axis tracker mounting rail

The demand for solar photovoltaic power installations has resulted in a highly competitive industry. Equipment suppliers are under pressure to reduce design margins for projects to be feasible. Single-axis trackers are widely used to increase yield and reduce the levelised cost of energy compared to fixed-tilt installations. Load coefficients on tracker arrays are usually quantified using model-scale studies conducted in atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnels. These dynamically sensitive structures have been known to suffer wind damage despite the use of modern design methods. Ongoing research into the support structure design is deemed important to ensure long-term reliability. The current study presents full-scale field data acquired over 109 days on an experimental one-in-portrait single-axis tracker facility located in the Western Cape, South Africa. The purpose of these measurements was to quantify wind load effects in two instrumented PV module mounting rails. Frequency domain data showed modal participation of both the torsional and bending modes of the torque tube. The effect of the bending mode was more pronounced for the rail furthest from a pile. Load coefficients calculated using experimental data were generally lower than those presented in ASCE 7-22. Fluctuating stresses at critical locations led to negligible fatigue damage.

Wind-induced interference effect of complex building clusters on long-span roof structures

The presence of complex buildings introduces interference effects and complicates the wind field around the long-span roof structure. The complexity of the problem makes it challenging to predict wind load of long-span roof structures, resulting in a scarcity of design data available to engineers and designers. Thus, the influence of interference effect on mean and peak pressure coefficients of a long-span tri-centered cylindrical roof structure was investigated through wind tunnel tests conducted in an atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel. The study focused on the interference effects caused by two cooling towers, chimney, and some low-rise buildings, considering all wind directions. The results show that the interference effects are the result of a combination of amplification effects from the adjacent cooling towers and chimney and shielding effects from the surrounding low-rise buildings. Due to the shielding effect of low-rise buildings, the wind suction on the roof is mitigated compared to that of a single building, while at the end of the roof, wind suction is amplified by cooling tower effects. The interference effect of the building clusters, however, amplifies the fluctuating wind pressure coefficient and the peak pressure coefficient on the roof. To accurately estimate the wind load of building components and envelopes, furthermore, this study investigates the influence mechanism of interference effect on non-Gaussian characteristics of wind pressure combining with fluctuating wind pressure spectrum, spatial correlation of fluctuating wind pressure, and probability distribution characteristics of standardized wind pressure coefficient. The spatial correlation of wind pressure in the roof interference area exhibits a strong association, and the probability density distribution characteristics of the standardized wind pressure coefficient significantly deviate from the Gaussian curve, with a peak factor exceeding 3.5. Thus, it can be concluded that the wind pressure within this region demonstrates significant non-Gaussian characteristics. Hence, the zone values of peak pressure coefficients are determined using the peak factor approach to inform the wind resistance design of the envelope structure.

An automated geometry generation procedure for CWE applications in OpenFOAM: the case study of a thunderstorm downburst moving over Genoa city

AbstractSince a decade, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations for Wind Engineering (WE) on large-scale environments became a norm. Meso-$$\gamma$$ γ scales and microscale can be characterized by a large number of structures as well as complex terrain topographies. CFD simulations over such an area would commonly imply the involvement of a time-consuming geometry preparation in the pre-processing stage. This is also the innovative goal of the present paper for which an automated geometry generation procedure for Computational Wind Engineering (CWE) applications is developed in open-source environments. This paper further expands on the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) simulation of a thunderstorm downburst immersed in a background Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) wind moving over Genoa city, Italy. Recommendations for geometry and grid generation of the present case study are also proposed. The study considers two simultaneous approaching wind conditions, a background ABL wind and a moving downburst (DB), the latter modeled as an impinging jet. The simulated results are compared with available full-scale LiDAR profiler data in terms of the vertical profiles of outflow velocity, showing relatively good agreement in terms of magnitude and profile shape.

Velocity-pressure admittance for structural analysis of large cooling towers against strong winds

To facilitate dynamic structural analyses of large cooling towers subjected to strong winds in structural design and safety assessments, the auto-spectra of the local wind pressures on the tower shell are required. To avoid expensive and laborious physical model tests, Pirner provided empirical normalized pressure spectra for direct use, which imply that the concept of velocity-pressure admittance can be applied in the windward region on the tower shell. However, Pirner's empirical results are subjected to the fact that the dependence of pressure spectra on height or turbulence intensity of the oncoming flow is wrongfully neglected. To this end, velocity-pressure admittances are measured at various heights on a 1:200 scaled tower model in an atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel, and unified formulae for velocity-pressure admittance on windward region of large cooling towers are fitted out for use considering the turbulence intensity effects. The unified formulae are further validated using data measured on a 167 m high full-scale cooling tower in China. The full-scale/empirical formulae comparison indicates that the unified formulae for velocity-pressure admittance proposed are applicable on the windward side [0 degrees, 70 degrees]; while a constant of 1 should be utilized as the normalized power spectral density in the circumferential region [70 degrees, 180 degrees] in structural analyses.

Impact of upstream fetch on environmental wind engineering applications

With the rapid urbanization process, there is a growing concern regarding the wind environment in suburban and urban regions. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of the upstream fetch length on environmental wind engineering issues, such as the pedestrian level wind (PLW) and the wind comfort assessment around newly built buildings. The suburban region of Westmount in Montreal and the urban area of Kowloon in Hong Kong are selected for case studies. The investigation has been experimental and results were obtained from two atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnels. The results indicate that the upstream fetch length that influences the PLW estimation in suburban areas is as short as 200 m and in urban areas is as short as 450 m. For the wind comfort assessment of a newly building, an upstream fetch length of 100 m from the building site can be utilized depending on the criteria used.

Floating wind turbine motion signature in the far-wake spectral content – a wind tunnel experiment

Abstract. The growing interest in floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) is rooted in the potential source of increased offshore energy production. As the technology is still in a pre-industrial state, several questions remain to be addressed where little field data are available. This study uses physical modelling at a reduced scale to investigate the signature of the floating motions into the wake spectral content of a simplified FOWT model. A wind turbine model based on the actuator disc concept is placed in an atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel and subjected to a range of surge, heave and pitch motions. The signatures of idealised sinusoidal motion and realistic broadband motion on the model’s wake at distances of 4.6 D (D being the disc diameter) and 8 D are measured through the use of a rake of single hot wires. The spectral analysis shows that harmonic motion leaves clear signatures in the far wake's energy spectra, mainly in the top tip region, while broadband motion does not leave easily detectable signatures.

Effect of surface roughness on large-scale downburst-like impinging jets

Downbursts are cold descending winds that develop from thunderstorm clouds and, after impingement on the ground, produce an intense low-level horizontal front characterized by an axisymmetric toroidal vortex structure. Surface roughness is a key factor in the characterization of mean and turbulent wind speed features of synoptic-scale stationary atmospheric boundary layer winds. The goal of the present research is to physically assess whether the same can apply to the surface layer produced during thunderstorms, which are non-stationary, highly time-transient, and spatially limited phenomena. Downburst-like flows were produced through the impinging jet technique at the WindEEE Dome, at Western University in Canada. Three different surfaces were tested, and an equivalent full-scale roughness length (z0,eq) was determined. Experimental records are made publicly available. The large geometric and kinematic scales produced high Reynolds numbers, which enabled us to classify the flow as “fully turbulent” and therefore representative of full-scale downbursts. Results indicate a weak dependency on the Reynolds number, which suggests no relevant flaws in extending the results to the natural environment. The overall wind speed maxima weakly depend on z0, whereas a sharp velocity decrease is observed beyond the radial position of the maxima with increasing z0. Surface roughness enhances the boundary layer separation and consequently elevates the height of maximum wind speed above the surface. Vertical profiles of the horizontal velocity return a quite clear nose shape. Turbulence intensity shows a C-like shape with maxima in the near proximity of the ground that increase with z0.

Computational Fluid Dynamics-Aided Simulation of Twisted Wind Flows in Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel

The twisted wind flow (TWF), referring to the phenomenon of wind direction varying with height, is a common feature of atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) winds, noticeably affecting the wind-resistant structural design and the wind environment assessment. The TWF can be effectively simulated by a guide vane system in wind tunnel tests, but the proper design and configuration of the guide vanes pose a major challenge as practical experience in using such devices is still limited in the literature. To address this issue, this study aims to propose an approach to determining the optimal wind tunnel setup for TWF simulations using a numerical wind tunnel, which is a replica of its physical counterpart, using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques. By analyzing the mechanisms behind guide vanes for generating TWF based on CFD results, it was found that the design must take into account three key parameters, namely, (1) the distance from the vane system to the side wall, (2) the distance from the vane system to the model test region, and (3) the separation between the vanes. Following the optimal setup obtained from the numerical wind tunnel, TWF profiles matching both the power-law and Ekman spiral models, which, respectively, reflect the ABL and wind twist characteristics, were successfully generated in the actual wind tunnel. The findings of this study provide useful information for wind tunnel tests as well as for wind-resistant structural designs and wind environment assessment.

Full-Scale/Model Test Comparisons to Validate the Traditional Atmospheric Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel Tests: Literature Review and Personal Perspectives

For this paper, full-scale/model test comparisons to validate the traditional atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) wind-tunnel simulation technique performed until now by the wind engineering community are systematically reviewed. The engineering background includes some benchmark low-rise buildings specifically established for use in wind engineering research (the Aylesbury experimental buildings, the Texas Tech University experimental building, the Silsoe buildings, etc.), several high-rise buildings in North America and East Asia, long-span bridges, large-span structures, and cooling towers. These structures are of different geometries, are located in different wind environments, and are equipped with various transducers and anemometers. By summarizing the different articles in the literature, it is evident that notable discrepancies between the full-scale measurement and the model test results were observed in most full-scale/model test comparisons, which usually took certain forms: the mean and/or the peak negative pressures at the flow separation regions on buildings were underestimated in the wind tunnel; differences in the root-mean-square (rms) values of the acceleration samples between the full-scale measurements and the force balance model tests were non-negligible; the vertical vortex-induced vibration amplitudes of bridges measured using section models and aero-elastic models were much lower than those observed on the prototypes, etc. Most scholars subjectively inferred that inherent technical issues with the ABL wind tunnel simulation technique could be responsible for the observed full-scale/model test discrepancies, including the Reynolds number effects, the turbulent flow characteristics effects, and the non-stationarity effects. However, based on the authors’ years of experience and after discussion with experienced researchers, it was found that some of the full-scale measurements performed in earlier research were inherently less accurate and deterministic than the wind tunnel experiments they were supposed to validate, which could also be a significant cause of the full-scale/model test discrepancies observed. It is suggested herein that future studies in this field should regard full-scale measurements only as benchmarks, and that future works should focus on synthesizing the results from different schools of physical experiments and formulating universal empirical models of high theoretical significance to properly validate future wind tunnel tests.

Experimental translating downbursts immersed in the atmospheric boundary layer

Thunderstorm winds are cold descending gravity currents whose impingement on the ground creates strong radial outflows with maximum wind speeds in the near-ground region. They represent one of the greatest hazards for natural and built environment as well as one of the deadliest phenomena all over the world. This study carries on the post-processing analyses of the downburst experimental campaign performed at the WindEEE Dome, at Western University in Canada, in the context of the ERC project THUNDERR. While a former study presented the interaction between downburst and atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) winds, here the focus is on the influence exerted by the thunderstorm cloud translation. This was experimentally replicated at large scale by means of impinging jet technique where the jet axis was inclined to a non-zero angle with respect to the vertical. Finally, the inclusion of background ABL wind allowed to reconstruct the complete three-dimensional and non-stationary nature of the phenomenon. The outflow radial symmetry is lost in case of inclined jet axis. This leads to an intensification of the front-wind side and weakening of the rear-wind side, where the entrainment of the counter-directed ABL wind, and consequent flow speed-up, are not as pronounced as in the vertical-axis case. The non-linearity of the complex interaction between downburst, ABL flow and cloud translation is proven and quantified. Vertical profiles of mean wind speed and turbulence intensity are discussed in relation to the mutual interaction among flow components.

An analysis of the influence of a generic building on tornadic flow fields using high-frequency PIV and point velocity measurements

The current practice of implementing tornadic wind actions on structures in building codes is not well established compared to atmospheric boundary layer winds. Given there is a lack of velocity measurements in actual tornados close to the surface, there is a body of research that is currently looking into physical simulations of tornado-like vortices (TLVs). Our study contributes to this field of research by looking into the aerodynamic effects a generic building exerts on TLVs that are stationary and positioned above the building. Our study also investigated the differences among two distinctively different velocity measurement techniques in TLV flows—Cobra probe and particle image velocimetry (PIV). We further examine how different TLV intensities affect the results by considering TLVs that correspond to (Enhanced Fujita) EF1- and EF2-rated tornadoes in the atmosphere. We show that the velocity fluctuations in Cobra probe records are higher than in PIV measurements despite both velocity records being sampled at 200 Hz. The discrepancy is due to the inherent spatial filtering used in PIV data processing. A larger discrepancy between the two measurement techniques was observed in the EF1 TLV. The presence of the building affected EF1 more than EF2 TLV due to the larger core diameter of the latter vortex. The diameter of the circumference of the maximum tangential velocity in EF1 and EF2 TLVs undisturbed by the building was 1.6 and 2.1 times larger than the diagonal length of the building. By comparing our results against prior research on the same TLVs, but without a building in the flow, we concluded that the building had the strongest effect in amplifying vertical velocity in the EF2 TLV. The significance of this result to wind loading and structural responses requires further wind engineering analyses. The circular symmetry of EF1 was more affected than in EF2 TLV due to its smaller size relative to the building.

A New Research Scheme for Full-Scale/Model Test Comparison of Wind Effects on Pengcheng Cooling Tower Based on Sinusoidal Flow Field Simulations

When examining the history of wind engineering, it is evident that many full-scale/model test comparisons have found noticeable differences between the results. Although understanding the causes of these differences is important for practical purposes, limited numerical and experimental conditions have often resulted in subjective explanations for full-scale/model test comparisons without scientific validation. To address this issue, this article suggests the use of the computational fluid dynamics technique or the multiple-fan actively controlled wind tunnel technique to quantitatively reveal the adverse effects that impact the reliability of the traditional atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel tests for a large cooling tower, including not only the widely acknowledged influences (Reynolds number effects and turbulent flow characteristics effects) but also the non-stationarity effects that have potential influences. Established on the novel proposition, a new research scheme for future full-scale/model test wind effects comparisons for large cooling towers has been formulated based on the numerical or physical simulations of the sinusoidal flow fields. Using the Pengcheng cooling tower as a case study, the research recognized the very significant impact of Reynolds number effects, the non-stationarity effects that cannot be ignored, and the negligible effects of turbulent flow characteristics.

Effect of void space arrangement on wind power potential and pressure coefficient distributions for high-rise void buildings

High-rise void building complexes can augment the permeation of airflows over buildings, and thereby strengthen urban wind energy harvesting for realization of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). This paper considers the wind over a typical 2×2 compact high-rise building array with the openings to analyze the wind power potential at varying void sizes, locations of voids, and direction of incoming wind. The predicted mean wind speeds and turbulence intensities are compared against the measured data with 4 generic high-rise building models having voids in an atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel for validation of the computational model. Based on the comparative results from four common Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) turbulence models including the standard, realizable, renormalization group (RNG) k-ε, and shear-stress transport (SST) k-ω models as well as the Reynolds stress model (RSM), the RSM approach can provide the most accurate predictions of streamwise mean velocity and turbulence intensity. The present study then conducts CFD simulations to explore the effects of opening configuration and wind direction on the wind field around high-rise void buildings. Considering the variations of void sizes of 10 × 10 m2, 12.5 × 12.5 m2, 15 × 15 m2, void heights of z/H = 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and wind directions of 0°, 45°, respectively, the simulated results indicate elevated wind power densities with acceptable turbulence intensities over the upstream gap passage and void channels to achieve prospective urban wind power harvest and mitigate wind load on structures of high-rise void buildings.

LES simulation study of wind turbine aerodynamic characteristics with fluid-structure interaction analysis considering blade and tower flexibility

As wind turbine blades become longer and more flexible, aerodynamic characteristics become increasingly complex and require complete investigations. In this study, a two-way fluid-structure interaction (FSI) model is proposed to analyze the effects of inflow conditions, including uniform and atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) winds, as well as blade and tower flexibility, on the aerodynamic characteristics of wind turbine blades. A 4.5 MW real wind turbine with the rotor diameter of 152 m and the hub height of 94 m is considered. Results show that the edgewise blade motion can be disregarded, while the motion of the tower and the flap-wise motion of blade significantly influence the aerodynamic characteristics of blades. The separation flow at the blade root suction side is more distinct and becomes less significant with an increase in spanwise distance, with stagnation points primarily distributed along the flow separation boundary at 0.45–0.95L (L is the blade length). The three-dimensional rotational effect of the blade induces notable fluctuations in the pulsating pressure coefficient, particularly within this region. Notably, a prominent peak is observed at the location of 0.65L. Consequently, it is recommended to allocate additional focus on this specific region to mitigate potential fatigue loads.

Fragility Analysis of Transmission Towers Subjected to Downburst Winds

A downburst is a typical local highly intensive wind all over the world, which is attributed to be the main cause of wind damage to transmission lines in inland areas worldwide. The collapse accidents of transmission towers under the downburst still occur every year. Therefore, it is of great significance to assess the safety of the transmission towers under downbursts. The motivation of the present study is to propose a fragility assessment method for transmission towers under the action of a downburst considering the uncertainty of wind-resistance capacity and the stochastic wind load effect. First, the downburst wind field of the transmission tower with different wind attack angles and different radial distances is simulated according to the mixed stochastic model. Then, random material characteristic samples are generated by the Latin hypercube sampling technique and applied to establish uncertain finite element models for transmission towers. Next, the static nonlinear buckling analysis is carried out by numerical methods to determine the ultimate capacity under the downburst wind load. The parameter analysis of different wind attack angles and radial distances between the downburst and the tower is conducted to determine the most unfavorable location of the maximum response. The failure mode of the transmission tower and the probabilities of the initial failure main members are summarized. Finally, the fragility curves of the transmission tower under the downburst and the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) wind are compared. The results show that the maximum response is located at R = 1.6D. Most of the initial buckling members are located close to the first section of the tower. The fragility curves of the tower under the downburst are more dangerous than the ABL wind with the attack angle increasing from 0° to 90°. Furthermore, considering the probability model of intensity and direction of the downburst and based on the previous fragility analysis, the collapse probability of the transmission tower caused by the downburst is obtained. By probability analysis of the parameters, including layout conditions, different directions, and different wind speeds, it is found that the most favorable arrangement is 157.5°, and the most unfavorable arrangement is 112.5°.

Atmospheric Dynamic Response to Coupling Currents to Wind Stress over the Gulf Stream

Atmospheric near-surface stress and boundary layer wind responses to surface currents are examined with high resolution coupled atmosphere–ocean models over the Gulf Stream during winter. Because the ocean and atmosphere are linked through surface stress, the two fluids can cause dramatic changes through feedback processes. When the current feedback is included, we find that the current gradient in the cross-wind direction drives the stress curl pattern and wind curl pattern to have minima and maxima at locations matching those of the ocean surface vorticity pattern. Furthermore, we find the large- (>30 km) and small-scale, or submesoscale (<30 km), stress curl and wind curl responses to ocean surface vorticity are complimentary; however, the large- and small-scale wind divergence responses are counteractive. These responses (commonly called coupling coefficients) are found to depend on the relative position to the Gulf Stream maximum current. Throughout the atmospheric boundary layer, we find including the current feedback also leads to changes in the atmospheric secondary circulation on either side of the Gulf Stream extension. The winter seasonal means suggest the current feedback will impact climate, and investigating individual events, such as an atmospheric front passing over the Gulf Stream, suggests the current feedback will also impact the intensity of weather.

Experimental Simulation of Thunderstorm Profiles in an Atmospheric Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel

Thunderstorms have different features in comparison with synoptic events, including a typical nose-shaped mean wind speed profile and non-stationary characteristics in time intervals from 10 min to 1 h. The simulation of thunderstorms in traditional wind tunnels requires suitable devices in order to replicate their peculiar characteristics. Disregarding the non-stationary characteristics of thunderstorm outflows, this paper aims to study the possibility of adopting a passive device such as a specially designed grid in order to reproduce the nose-shaped mean wind speed profile. A widely adopted model of the mean wind velocity profile from the literature is employed as a target profile for the verification of the experimental findings. The results obtained show a good agreement between the measured and target mean wind speed profiles and an acceptable turbulence intensity level compared with full-scale and experimental measurements. The proposed device offers a practical and cost-effective solution to simulate the main characteristics of a thunderstorm event in a traditional atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel, which could be adopted to assess the significance of thunderstorm loading on civil engineering structures and define the requirement for ad hoc specialist studies.

Assessing wind field characteristics along the airport runway glide slope: an explainable boosting machine-assisted wind tunnel study

Aircraft landings are especially perilous when the wind is gusty near airport runways. For this reason, an aircraft may deviate from its glide slope, miss its approach, or even crash in the worst cases. In the study, we used the state-of-the-art glass-box model, the Explainable Boosting Machine (EBM), to estimate the variation in headwind speed and turbulence intensity along the airport runway glide slope and to interpret the various contributing factors. To begin, the wind field characteristics were examined by developing a scaled-down model of Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) runway as well as and the surrounding buildings and complex terrain in the TJ-3 atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel. The placement of probes along the glide slope of the model runway aided in the measurement of wind field characteristics at different locations in the presence and absence of surrounding buildings. Next, the experimental data was used to train the EBM model in conjunction with Bayesian optimization approach. The counterpart black box models (extreme gradient boosting, random forest, extra tree and adaptive boosting) as well as other glass box models (linear regression and decision tree) were compared with the outcomes of the EBM model. Based on the holdout testing data, the EBM model revealed superior performance for both variation in headwind speed and turbulence intensity in terms of mean absolute error, mean squared error, root mean squared error and R-square values. To further evaluate the impact of different factors on the wind field characteristics along the airport runway glide slope, the EBM model allows for a full interpretation of the contribution of individual and pairwise interactions of factors to the prediction results from both a global and a local perspective.

Transient Evaluation of Wind‐Induced Vibration Response of Heliostat Under Downburst

As the region with the highest amount of solar radiation, Qinghai–Tibet Plateau has the highest frequency of thunderstorms in China. Downburst generated in thunderstorm can cause high‐intensive wind near the ground, which is a critical threat to heliostats. Herein, the impact of the wind loads on the heliostat response under downburst is investigated using a proven finite‐element model and the influence is also compared with that under atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) wind. The results demonstrate that the downburst development process, the movement of the storm center, and the heliostat's elevation angle are highly associated with the wind‐induced response characteristics of the heliostat under downburst. The maximum displacement and stress of the heliostat with different elevation angles under the downburst are significantly larger than those under ABL wind. Additionally, when the elevation angle of the heliostat is 30°, the maximum value of the mirror's first principal stress under downburst is 1.88 times greater than it is under ABL wind. Therefore, the impact of wind‐induced vibration caused by downburst is necessarily considered on the safety of heliostat in Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau with abundant solar energy resources and high incidence of downbursts.

Estimating turbulence intensity along the glide path using wind tunnel experiments combined with interpretable tree-based machine learning algorithms

Wind fluctuations near airport runways can make aircraft landings risky. Consequently, an aircraft may veer off its glide path, missed approach, or crash. In this study, a scaled-down model of Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) and the complex terrain in its vicinity were built in a TJ-3 atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel to investigate wind turbulence intensity. Cobra probes were placed along the glide slope of the models' runway to compute turbulence intensity at various locations under different inflow wind directions, with and without surrounding terrain. Next, advanced tree-based machine learning algorithms, including Random Forest, Extreme Gradient Boosting, Adaptive Boosting, and Light Gradient Boosting Machine optimized via Bayesian Optimization, were used to estimate turbulence intensity along the glide path. The Bayesian optimized-random forest model outperforms all other models in prediction performance, as measured by MAE (0.521), MSE (1.046), RMSE (1.024), and R2 (0.934). Furthermore, according to SHAP analysis, "Terrain", "Distance from Runway", and "Wind Direction" significantly contributed to high turbulence intensity along the glide path. The most optimistic predictions for high turbulence intensity were the presence of complex terrain, a shorter distance from the runway, and an inflow wind direction between 125 and 200°.