Unsteady Wind Loads Research Articles

Modeling the along-wind loading on a high-rise building considering the turbulence scale effects in the wind tunnel tests

The three-dimensional (3D) stretch and distortion of the approaching turbulent flow will cause significant unsteady wind loads on line-like structures, such as high-rise buildings (HRBs). This phenomenon becomes more prominent when the scale ratio Lu/D (Lu is turbulence scale, D is body size) decreases, which is defined as the turbulence scale effect (TSE). Consequently, the traditional aerodynamic admittance (AAF) fails to estimate the along-wind loading (AWL) on HRBs, especially in wind tunnel tests. This paper studies the TSE on the AAF of an HRB with a 2:1 rectangular cross-section based on the pressure measurement of a segmental model. A 3D spectral method is presented to decompose the traditional AAF of AWL into the two-dimensional AAF (2D-AAF) in fully coherent gusts and the 3D correction factor to consider the 3D effect. The results indicate that the reduction of Lu/D will amplify the high-frequency decay slope of 2D-AAF and attenuate the low-frequency value of traditional AAF, determined by the distorted turbulence and the 3D effect, respectively. Notably, the presented 2D-AAF model based on the experimental data from grid-generated turbulence can be adopted to predict the unsteady AWL on a 2:1 HRB in the simulated boundary layer (ABL) flow accurately, confirming the uniqueness of the proposed model.

Attenuation of the unsteady loading on a high-rise building using top-surface open-loop control

With the severity and frequency of significant weather events increasing, methods for alleviating unsteady wind loading for high-rise buildings are gaining interest. This study numerically investigates the three-dimensional flow structures around a canonical high-rise building immersed in an atmospheric boundary layer at different oncoming wind angles, using wall-resolved large eddy simulations. A synthetic jet located on the top surface is used as open-loop active actuation with the aim of suppressing the building's side-force fluctuations when exposed to oncoming wind variations. Three different frequencies of jet forcing are considered, all half an order of magnitude larger than the vortex shedding frequency. The behaviour of the synthetic jet and its effect on the building's unsteady side force, time-averaged flow fields and unsteady flow structures are investigated numerically. The synthetic jet actuation is found to reduce the side-force fluctuation of the building, enhance the downwash flow and successfully attenuate the antisymmetric vortex shedding. This was achieved to different extents across the range of oncoming wind angles considered and may motivate future attempts to explore experimental active control strategies for attenuation of unsteady wind loading.

A Data-Driven Model for Aerodynamic Loads on Road Vehicles Exposed to Gusty Bora-Like Winds

Strong cross-wind gusts can cause the vehicle to overturn or slide off the road. This problem is particularly experienced on bridges, as vehicles are extremely sensitive to complex wind-bridge–vehicle interactions. While quasi-steady atmospheric winds create serious difficulties for vehicles, this fact is exacerbated by gusts of wind, as is the case with bora, where gusts of wind can reach velocities five times the average wind velocity. In the present study, experiments concerning aerodynamic loads experienced by vehicles exposed to gusty, bora-like winds are carried out. It is noted that the wind gusting and vortex shedding determine unsteady wind loads on vehicles. The experimental results are used as a basis for developing a simple data-driven modeling approach capable of predicting the time history of aerodynamic loads on vehicles exposed to cross-wind gusts. The modeling results indicate that a model using more than two-state variables is needed to capture the unsteady aerodynamic loads.

Attenuation of the unsteady loading on a high-rise building using feedback control

The unsteady wind loading on high-rise buildings has the potential to influence strongly their structural performance in terms of serviceability, habitability and occupant comfort. This paper investigates numerically the flow structures around a canonical high-rise building immersed in an atmospheric boundary layer, using wall-resolved large eddy simulations. The switching between two vortex shedding modes is explored, and the influence of the atmospheric boundary layer on suppressing symmetric vortex shedding is identified. It is shown that the antisymmetric vortex shedding mode is prevalent in the near wake behind the building, with strong coherence between the periodic fluctuations of the building side force and the antisymmetric vortex shedding mode demonstrated. Two feedback control strategies, exploiting this idea, are designed to alleviate the aerodynamic side-force fluctuations, using pressure sensing on just a single building wall. The sensor response to synthetic jet actuation along the two ‘leading edges’ of the building is characterised using system identification. Both the designed linear controller and the least mean square adaptive controller attenuate successfully the side-force fluctuations when implemented in simulations. The linear controller exhibits a better performance, and its effect on the flow field is to delay the formation of dominant vortices and increase the extent of the recirculation region. Feedback control that requires a smaller sensing area is then explored, with a comparable control effect achieved in the attenuation of the unsteady loading. This study could motivate future attempts to understand and control the unsteady loading of a high-rise building exposed to oncoming wind variations.

Turbulence characteristics in the wake of a heliostat in an atmospheric boundary layer flow

The mean and spectral characteristics of turbulence in the wake flow of a flat plate model resembling a heliostat in the atmospheric boundary layer flow are investigated in a wind tunnel experiment. Mean velocity and turbulence kinetic energy were characterized in the wake of a heliostat model at three elevation angles up to a distance of eight times the characteristic dimension of the heliostat panel. An increase in turbulence intensity and kinetic energy was found in the wake flow, reaching a peak at a distance equal to approximately twice the characteristic dimension of the heliostat panel. Furthermore, spectral and wavelet analysis of velocity fluctuations in the wake showed that the dominant mechanism in the immediate downstream of the plate was the breakdown of large inflow turbulence structures to smaller scales. In the end, the wake-induced turbulence patterns and wind loads in a heliostat field were discussed. It was found that compared to a heliostat at the front row, the heliostats positioned in high-density regions of a field were subjected to a higher turbulence intensity and, consequently, larger dynamic wind loading. The results show that it is necessary to consider the increased unsteady wind loads for the design of a heliostat in high-density regions of a field, where the gap between the rows is less than three-times the characteristic length of the heliostat panel.

Large eddy simulations of wind loads on an external floating-roof tank

Wind load of an external floating-roof tank is analyzed using large eddy simulation (LES). First, the governing equations and a LES solution procedure employing FLUENT software are presented. Subsequently, using two benchmark tank models, the accuracy of LES is examined and the advantages of LES over wind Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) method in computing the unsteady wind loads and vortex structures around a tank are validated. Finally, using LES, the turbulent flows and wind loads around an external floating-roof tank at varying Reynolds numbers and liquid levels are analyzed. The DSM SGS model was found to have better accuracy when LES is applied to the tank flow. For an external floating-roof tank, the Reynolds number has little influence on the wind load at Re > 106, while the liquid level affects significantly both the wind loads on the tank and the vortex structures in the flow, and the wind pressure on the internal wall distributes more evenly than that on the external wall, due to the recirculation of the flow in the cavity above the roof. In all cases, the pressure on the external floating-roof tank oscillates apparently with time, which indicates the necessity of applying LES to the wind load analysis of tanks.

Random Response Analysis of Axle-Box Bearing of a High-Speed Train Excited by Crosswinds and Track Irregularities

The Axle-box bearing (ABB) is a key component in the high-speed train which suffers multiple stochastic excitations in realistic working conditions. The ABB's health status is crucial for the reliable and safe operation of the rolling stock. This paper proposes a novel stochastic vehicle–track coupled model to evaluate the dynamic performance of ABBs in a high-speed train with unsteady wind load and random track irregularities. The nonlinear bearing stiffness and unsmooth nonlinearities of the bearing clearances are properly considered based on the Hertzian contact theory. The von Karman power spectral density is adopted to generate the time-history of the fluctuating wind speed on a moving vehicle. The unsteady wind loads acting on the carbody are derived based on the fluid-induced vibration theory. The empirical PSD of track irregularity is adopted to generate the time-history of track irregularities. The Monte Carlo method is employed to analyse the roller–raceway contact stress with random excitations of unsteady wind and track irregularities. The results indicate that the crosswind causes the partial loading phenomenon of the ABBs. The increase of crosswind speed significantly increases the probability of the contact stress exceeding the safety threshold, which challenges the service safety of the key components inside the train.

Measurement of unsteady wind loads in a wind tunnel: Scaling of turbulence spectra

Mismatch of turbulence spectra from the corresponding full-scale conditions is a common challenge in wind tunnel modelling of unsteady wind loads on small-scale structures, such as solar panels, heliostats and low-rise buildings. Understanding the effect of this mismatch on the unsteady wind loads is necessary for providing an accurate estimation of wind loads on full-scale structures. The correlation between the turbulence spectra and the unsteady wind loads in wind tunnel measurements is investigated in this study through measurement of unsteady lift and drag forces on horizontal and vertical flat plates. It was found through spectral analysis that the turbulent eddies in the range of reduced frequencies between 0.01 and 1 contributed the most to the unsteady wind loads. An approach for wind tunnel modelling was proposed in which the geometric scaling ratio of each model is determined based on the analysis of the turbulence power spectrum as a function of reduced frequency. The suitable geometric scaling ratio should be then chosen such that the turbulence spectrum as a function of reduced frequency is the closest match to that at full-scale for reduced frequencies between approximately 0.01 and 1.

Wind loads on heliostats of various column heights: An experimental study

Wind tunnel measurements were carried out to analyze the influence of column height and to estimate the steady and unsteady wind loads on heliostats. A heliostat model was tested at three different column heights for typical configurations. Wind pressure distributions across the mirror plane and fluctuating wind pressure characteristics are presented and analyzed.The results show that an increase in the column height produces larger steady and unsteady pressure wind loads, stronger vortex shedding and higher shedding frequencies. Nevertheless, the effect of column height is limited on Gaussian and non-Gaussian characteristics.Irregularity and weakness of vortex shedding appear at the smallest column height and can be useful to avoid the resonance of the structure. The results of this study are also valid for stand-alone ground mounted photovoltaic trackers of similar shape.

A review of wind turbine-oriented active flow control strategies

To reduce the levelized cost of energy, the energy production, robustness and lifespan of horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs) have to be improved to ensure optimal energy production and operational availability during periods longer than 15–20 years. HAWTs are subject to unsteady wind loads that generate combinations of unsteady mechanical loads with characteristic time scales from seconds to minutes. This can be reduced by controlling the aerodynamic performance of the wind turbine rotors in real time to compensate the overloads. Mitigating load fluctuations and optimizing the aerodynamic performance at higher time scales need the development of fast-response active flow control (AFC) strategies located as close as possible to the torque generation, i.e., directly on the blades. The most conventional actuators currently used in HAWTs are mechanical flaps/tabs (similar to aeronautical accessories), but some more innovative concepts based on fluidic and plasma actuators are very promising since they are devoid of mechanical parts, have a fast response and can be driven in unsteady modes to influence natural instabilities of the flow. In this context, the present paper aims at giving a state-of-the-art review of current research in wind turbine-oriented flow control strategies applied at the blade scale. It provides an overview of research conducted in the last decade dealing with the actuators and devices devoted to developing AFC on rotor blades, focusing on the flow phenomena that they cause and that can lead to aerodynamic load increase or decrease. After providing some general background on wind turbine blade aerodynamics and on the atmospheric flows in which HAWTs operate, the review focuses on flow separation control and circulation control mainly through experimental investigations. It is followed by a discussion about the overall limitations of current studies in the wind energy context, with a focus on a few studies that attempt to provide a global efficiency assessment and wind energy-oriented energy balance.

Separation Control on a Bridge Box Girder Using a Bypass Passive Jet Flow

In the present study, a bypass passive jet flow control method was proposed to mitigate unsteady wind loads and to manipulate the flow field around a single box girder of a bridge. With a geometric ratio of 1:125, the single box girder model was determined using the cross-section of the Great Belt East Bridge. During the experiments, one test model without control was adopted, while five different test models with different suction/jet configurations were employed to analyze the effects of the control method and to reveal the underlying mechanism of different control schemes. The incoming wind speed was fixed to 12 m/s and the wind attack angles were changed from −20° to 20°, resulting in a corresponding Reynolds number of Re = 0.28 × 105–0.74 × 105 based on the different attack angles. A six-component force balance, a set of digital sensor array (DSA) pressure transducers, and a particle image velocimetry (PIV) system was used to measure the aerodynamic forces, pressure distributions, and flow fields around the test models to evaluate the control effectiveness of different control cases. Detailed flow structures are presented and discussed for two test cases when the angles of attack are +15° and −20°. The effects of control on the aerodynamic forces were first investigated to determine and select the best one out of five control cases. The pressure distributions on the surface of the test model without control and the best control case were then compared to evaluate the control effectiveness of the pressure gradient and the fluctuating pressure coefficients. The flow fields around the test models demonstrate that the bypass passive jet flow control could decrease vortex strength, delay flow separation, and change recirculation region and size. The results of the aerodynamic forces, pressure distributions, and flow fields indicate that the bypass passive jet flow control method results in effective control.

Towards physics-based operational modeling of the unsteady wind turbine response to atmospheric and wake-induced turbulence

The objective of the present work is to develop a tool able to predict, in a computationally affordable way, the unsteady wind turbine power production and loads as well as its wake dynamics, as a function of the turbine dynamics and incoming wind conditions. Based on the lessons learned from a previous study about the characterization of the unsteady wake dynamics, the framework for an operational wake model is presented. The approach relies on an underlying vorticity-based skeleton consisting of different components, such as a regularized Vortex Sheet Tube (VST) and Vortex Dipole Line (VDL). Physically based evolution equations, accounting for the various flow phenomena occurring in the wake (such as advection, turbulent diffusion/core spreading, source/sink terms, etc.), are then derived. Once calibrated, the wake model is shown to be in good agreement with results of high-fidelity Large Eddy Simulations (LES) obtained using an Immersed Lifting Line-enabled Vortex Particle-Mesh method.

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF FULL SIZE NACELLE TESTING OF WIND TURBINE GENERATORS

In field operation wind turbines generators are influenced by stochastic and unsteady wind loads. This results in high forces straining the wind turbines in all six degrees of freedom. For a design optimization of wind turbine components with the aim of achieving a better load distribution and an optimal utilization of material as well as reduced costs and increased availability, a better knowledge on the local load conditions and the interaction of all drivetrain components is required. Investigating full nacelles on a system test bench offers the opportunity to establish the relationships between the external wind and grid loads and the internal component stresses.This contribution presents such a test setup including its potentials and first experiences from the operation at the Center for Wind Power Drives (CWD) at RWTH Aachen University.

Numerical and experimental study of unsteady wind loads on panels of a radar aerial

This work experimentally and numerically analyzes the flow configurations and the dynamic wind loads on panels of rectangular L/h 5:1 cross section mounted on a structural frame of rectangular bars of L/h 0.5:1, corresponding to a radar structure. The fluid dynamic interaction between panels and frame wakes imposes dynamic loads on the panels, with particular frequencies and Strouhal numbers, different from those of isolated elements. The numerical scheme is validated by comparison with mean forces and velocity spectra of a panel wake obtained by wind tunnel tests. The flow configuration is analyzed through images of the numerical simulations. For a large number of panels, as in the radar array, their wakes couple in either phase or counter-phase configurations, changing the resultant forces on each panel. Instantaneous normal and tangential force coefficients are reported; their spectra show two distinct peaks, caused by the interaction of the wakes. Finally, a scaled model of a rectangular structure comprised of panels and frame elements is tested in the boundary layer wind tunnel in order to determine the influence of the velocity variation with height and the three-dimensionality of the bulk flow around the structure. Results show that the unsteady aerodynamic loads, being strongly influenced by the vortex shedding of the supporting elements and by the global 3-D geometry of the array, differ considerably on a panel in this array from loads acting on an isolated panel, not only in magnitude, but also in frequency.

Investigation of aerodynamic effects on the high-speed train exposed to longitudinal and lateral wind velocities

The wind stability of the high-speed train has gained an increasing interest in the last few years. In this paper, an investigation of the effects of stochastic winds with longitudinal and lateral components on the high-speed train is described. The longitudinal and lateral wind time histories at the position of a moving vehicle, for a variety of wind directions, are first simulated. An algorithm for computing the unsteady aerodynamic load time histories is then derived for a moving vehicle. A typical railway vehicle has been modeled using the vehicle dynamic simulation package ‘Simpack’, and the unsteady wind loads of the same vehicle are applied to the vehicle model to investigate the dynamic response behavior. The simulated vehicle behavior is assessed against the indicator of load reduction factor, which indicates wheel unloading and therefore potential roll over. The characteristic wind curves (CWC) and its spread range are then obtained to evaluate the operational safety of the high-speed train. The results demonstrate that the operational safety of the high-speed train will be overestimated if the lateral wind velocity is not considered, especially for the small angles between vehicle and wind.

Numerical investigation of the coupled interaction between an unsteady aerodynamic flow field and a water film coating on a circular cylinder

Rain–wind induced vibration is an aeroelastic phenomenon that occurs on the inclined cables of cable-stayed bridges and arises due to the interaction between the unsteady wind loading and the formation of water rivulets on the cable surface. A new numerical method has been developed at the University of Strathclyde to simulate the influence of the external flow field on the rivulet dynamics and vice versa. The approach is to couple a Discrete Vortex Method solver to determine the external flow field and unsteady aerodynamic loading, and a pseudo-spectral solver based on lubrication theory to model the evolution and growth of the water rivulets on the cable surface under external loading. Results of this coupled model are presented, to provide detailed information on the development of water rivulets and their interaction with the aerodynamic field. In particular, the effect of the initial water film thickness and the angle of attack in plane on the resulting rivulets are investigated. The results are consistent with previous full scale and experimental observations with rivulets forming on the upper surface of the cable only in configurations where rain–wind induced vibration has been observed. Additionally, the thickness of the lower rivulet is found to be self-limiting in all configurations. The results demonstrate that the model can be used to enhance the understanding of the underlying physical mechanisms of rain–wind-induced vibration.

Detached eddy simulation of flow past an isolated inclined solar panel

Detached Eddy Simulations (DES) were carried out to analyze the influence of ground clearance and to estimate the unsteady wind loading on solar panels. A generic type of solar panel was considered at three different ground clearances. For the range of ground clearance values considered in the study, the results show that an increase in the clearance produces stronger vortex shedding fluctuations, higher shedding frequencies, and larger mean and unsteady wind loading. For the smallest ground clearance, an irregular vortex shedding was observed. The flow structures formed in the wake are analyzed using various indicators of turbulence characteristics including the vorticity and the λ2 criterion. The flow structures suggest a complex formation and subsequent shedding of vortices. The absence of regular vortex shedding at the smallest ground clearance and the presence of the same at the mid-ground clearance value suggests a reference for minimizing the unsteady wind loading of solar panels. Furthermore, the unsteady results reveal that the lower sections of the panel are more vulnerable to wind loading.

Dynamic Stability of Euler Beams under Axial Unsteady Wind Force

Dynamic instability of beams in complex structures caused by unsteady wind load has occurred more frequently. However, studies on the parametric resonance of beams are generally limited to harmonic loads, while arbitrary dynamic load is rarely involved. The critical frequency equation for simply supported Euler beams with uniform section under arbitrary axial dynamic forces is firstly derived in this paper based on the Mathieu-Hill equation. Dynamic instability regions with high precision are then calculated by a presented eigenvalue method. Further, the dynamically unstable state of beams under the wind force with any mean or fluctuating component is determined by load normalization, and the wind-induced parametric resonant response is computed by the Runge-Kutta approach. Finally, a measured wind load time-history is input into the dynamic system to indicate that the proposed methods are effective. This study presents a new method to determine the wind-induced dynamic stability of Euler beams. The beam would become dynamically unstable provided that the parametric point, denoting the relation between load properties and structural frequency, is located in the instability region, no matter whether the wind load component is large or not.

On the quasi-instantaneous aerodynamic load and pressure field measurements on turbines by non-intrusive PIV

An experimental technique is presented to non-intrusively measure the quasi-instantaneous aerodynamic loads and surrounding pressure field for a turbine by using particle image velocimetry (PIV). The PIV measurements provide the velocity flow field needed to calculate the pressure field around the turbine using three different methods. In the first method, the quasi-instantaneous and mean pressure fields are obtained by solving the Poisson equation and by calculating the boundary conditions from the Navier–Stokes equations. In the second method, the pressure at the boundaries is determined by spatial integration of the pressure gradient. In the third method, the pressure is calculated using the Bernoulli equation. The experimental results are compared to aerodynamic load theoretical predictions from the Blade Element Momentum theory (BEM). An analysis of the experimental results showed the importance of the local acceleration, convective and pressure terms when calculating the forces and the pressure field in a stationary reference frame. Only the Poisson method includes all these terms, and had a small standard deviation between the calculated instantaneous forces. Furthermore, the Poisson method results are independent of the control volume size investigated while the other two experimental methods are affected. This experimental technique could be used to simultaneously replace instrumentation such as force balance and pressure taps while providing for the first time quasi-instantaneous information about the surrounding flow in any turbine immersed in an incompressible flow. In addition, it could be applied to evaluate unsteady wind loads and aerodynamic stall and also provide much needed information for validating computational studies.

Problems and methods of numerical and experimental investigation of high rise constructions’ aerodynamics in the coastal region "sea-land"

Study of unsteady atmospheric flows around irregular obstacles with regard to the specificity of the relief presents an important basic problem of aerodynamics. This paper is directed to consider several interrelated problems: predictions and measurements of unsteady wind loads at high rise buildings and urban development with regard to discrete roughness, vegetation and wood, and relief in the coastal region sea-land; computation of vibrations of high rise constructions as acted upon by sign-variable wind loads; determination of a rational location of building structures on the relief in terms of the criterion of minimal drag to the wind action; ecological monitoring of the relief; investigation of averaged characteristics and pulsation characteristics of the flow near an isolated body, tandem and a pack of bodies.