Wind Force Coefficients for Designing Porous Canopy Roofs

Wind force coefficients for designing porous canopy roofs have been investigated based on a series of wind tunnel experiments. Gable, troughed and mono-sloped roofs were tested. The roof models were made of 0.5 mm thick perforated duralumin plates, the porosity of which was changed from 0 to about 0.4. Overall aerodynamic forces and moments acting on the roof model were measured in a turbulent boundary layer with a six-component force balance for various wind directions. The results indicate that the wind loads on canopy roofs generally decrease with an increase in porosity of the roof. Assuming that the roof is rigid and supported by the four corner columns with no walls, the axial forces induced in the columns are regarded as the most important load effect for discussing the design wind loads. Two loading patterns causing the maximum tension and compression in the columns are considered. Based on a combination of the lift and moment coefficients, the design wind force coefficients on the windward and leeward halves of the roof are presented for the two loading patterns as a function of the roof pitch and porosity. The effect of porosity is taken into account as a reduction factor of the wind loads.

Determination of Wind Pressure Coefficients for Arc-Shaped Canopy Roof with Numerical Wind Tunnel Method

In this paper,the wind load on an arc-shaped canopy roof was studied with numerical wind tunnel method(NWTM) .Three-dimensional models were set up for the canopy roof with opened or closed skylights.The air flow around the roof under wind action from three directions was analysed respectively.Wind pressure coefficients on the canopy roof were determined by NWTM.The results of NWTM agreed well with those of wind tunnel test for the roof with opened skylights,which verified the applicability and rationality of NWTM.The effect of the closure of skylights was then investigated with NWTM.It was concluded that the closure of the skylights may increase the wind suction on the top surface of the roof greatly and should be considered in the structure design of the canopy roof.

Sea Surface Roughness Derivation from Wind Speed Estimated by Satellite Altimeter

For open sea conditions the sea surface roughness is described as a function of surface stress and wind speed over sea surface by Charnock relation. The sea surface roughnessn in the North-west Pacific Ocean is derived successfully using wind speed data estimated by the TOPEX satellite altimeter. From the results we find that： （1） the mean sea surface roughness in winter is greater than in summer; （2） compared with other sea areas, the sea surface roughness in the sea area east of Japan （ N30°- 40°, E135°- 150°） is larger than in other sea areas; （3） sea surface roughness in the South China Sea changes more greatly than that in the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea and East China Sea.

Wind-induced responses of super-large cooling towers

Traditional gust load factor(GLF)method,inertial wind load(IWL)method and tri-component method(LRC+IWL)cannot accurately analyze the wind-induced responses of super-large cooling towers,so the real combination formulas of fluctuating wind-induced responses and equivalent static wind loads(ESWLSs)were derived based on structural dynamics and random vibration theory.The consistent coupled method(CCM)was presented to compensate the coupled term between background and resonant response.Taking the super-large cooling tower(H=215 m)of nuclear power plant in Jiangxi Province,China,which is the highest and largest in China,as the example,based on modified equivalent beam-net design method,the aero-elastic model for simultaneous pressure and vibration measurement of super-large cooling tower is firstly carried out.Then,combining wind tunnel test and CCM,the effects of self-excited force on the surface pressures and wind-induced responses are discussed,and the wind-induced response characteristics of background component,resonant component,coupled term between background and resonant response,fluctuating responses,and wind vibration coefficients are discussed.It can be concluded that wind-induced response mechanism must be understood to direct the wind resistant design for super-large cooling towers.

Wind Loading on a Hyperbolic Paraboloid Free Roof

Wind loading on an H.P. （hyperbolic paraboloid） free roof has been investigated on the basis of a wind tunnel experiment. The roof models of 1 mm thickness were made of nylon resin using laser lithography. The parameters under consideration are the rise to span ratio and slope of the roof. The overall aerodynamic forces and moments were measured by a six-component force balance in a turbulent boundary layer. Based on a combination of the lift and moment coefficients, the design wind force coefficients, CNW^＊ and CNL^＊, on the windward and leeward halves of the roof are proposed. Focus is on the column axial forces induced by wind loading as the load effect for discussing the design wind loads, assuming that the roof is rigid and supported by four comer columns. Indeed, two pairs of CNW^＊ and CNL^＊, generating the maximum tension and compression in the columns, are provided for each of the two or three wind directions parallel to the roof＇s diagonal lines. The proposed values of the wind force coefficients are compared with the specified values in the Australia/New-Zealand Standard for a limited range of rise to span ratio.

Effect of Porosity on the Wind Loads on a Hyperbolic Paraboloid Canopy Roof

A discussion is made of the wind force coefficients for designing the main wind force resisting systems of H.P. （Hyperbolic-Paraboid）-shaped porous canopy roofs on the basis of a wind tunnel experiment. Roof models with a number of small circular holes were made of nylon resin using laser lithography. The porosity was changed from 0 （solid） to 0.4. Besides the porosity, the geometric parameters of the models were the rise to span ratio and slope of the roof. The overall aerodynamic forces and moments acting on a model were measured by a six-component force balance in a turbulent boundary layer. The results indicate that the porosity significantly reduces the wind loads. The design wind force coefficients for porous canopy roofs can be provided by those for solid roofs with the same configuration multiplied by a reduction factor. The proposed wind force coefficients are verified by a comparison of the load effect predicted by the proposed wind force coefficients with the maximum load effect obtained from dynamic analyses using the time history of wind force and moment coefficients. The axial forces induced in the columns supporting the roof are regarded as the load effect for discussing the design wind loads.

Determination method of load balance ranges for train operation safety under strong wind

The aerodynamic performances of a passenger car and a box car with different heights of windbreak walls under strong wind were studied using the numerical simulations, and the changes of aerodynamic side force, lift force and overturning moment with different wind speeds and wall heights were calculated. According to the principle of static moment balance of vehicles, the overturning coefficients of trains with different wind speeds and wall heights were obtained. Based on the influence of wind speed and wall height on the aerodynamic performance and the overturning stability of trains, a method of determination of the load balance ranges for the train operation safety was proposed, which made the overturning coefficient have nearly closed interval. A min(|A1|+|A2|), s.t. |A1|→|A2|(A1 refers to the downwind overturning coefficient and A2 refers to the upwind overturning coefficient)was found. This minimum value helps to lower the wall height as much as possible, and meanwhile, guarantees the operation safety of various types of trains under strong wind. This method has been used for the construction and improvement of the windbreak walls along the Lanzhou–Xinjiang railway(from Lanzhou to Urumqi, China).

Effect of blade pitch angle on aerodynamic performance of straight-bladed vertical axis wind turbine

Wind energy is one of the most promising renewable energy sources, straight-bladed vertical axis wind turbine(S-VAWT) appears to be particularly promising for the shortage of fossil fuel reserves owing to its distinct advantages, but suffers from poor self-starting and low power coefficient. Variable-pitch method was recognized as an attractive solution to performance improvement, thus majority efforts had been devoted into blade pitch angle effect on aerodynamic performance. Taken into account the local flow field of S-VAWT, mathematical model was built to analyze the relationship between power outputs and pitch angle. Numerical simulations on static and dynamic performances of blade were carried out and optimized pitch angle along the rotor were presented. Comparative analyses of fixed pitch and variable-pitch S-VAWT were conducted, and a considerable improvement of the performance was obtained by the optimized blade pitch angle, in particular, a relative increase of the power coefficient by more than 19.3%. It is further demonstrated that the self-starting is greatly improved with the optimized blade pitch angle.

Structural Analysis of Timber Gridshell Covered by OSB Panels Considering the Effect of Wind

Timber gridshells have been increasingly gaining attention for combining structural efficiency with an attractive architectural design.The use of timber in this structural system gives freedom to the architectural configuration and implies light and efficient construction.This study presents a methodology for the structural analysis of a gridshell covered by OSB(oriented strand board)panels,taken as a case study,and evaluates the model using finite element analysis.The gridshell’s final geometry was obtained from simulations of the effect of permanent load on the mesh.The structural evaluation was numerically estimated via ANSYS software’s CFX platform,considering the effect of wind on the fluid-structure interaction,as well as the results of a static analysis of the structure,including ultimate and serviceability limit state verifications.To assess the influence of the OSB panels on the gridshell’s behavior,two values of elastic modulus are considered.The analysis of a timber gridshell,which covers a span of 14 m by 28 m,demonstrated that this lightweight structure can be considered rigid,and the increase in stiffness of the OSB panels,used as the structure’s coating,can represent an expressive strength and stiffness gain for this type of gridshell.

Calculation and analysis of losses of magnetic-valve controllable reactor

Magnetic-valve controllable reactor(MCR)has characteristics of DC bias and different types of magnetic flux density in the magnetic circuit and winding current distortion.These characteristics not only lead to loss calculation method of MCR different from that of power transformer,but also make it more difficult to calculate the core loss and wingding loss of MCR accurately.Our study combines core partition method with dynamic inverse J-A model to calculate the core loss of MCR.The winding loss coefficient of MCR is proposed,which takes into account the influence of harmonics and magnetic flux leakage on the winding loss of MCR.The result shows that the proposed core loss calculation method and winding loss coefficient are effective and correct for the loss calculation of MCR.

A cloud-based platform to predict wind pressure coefficients on buildings

Natural ventilation(NV)is a key passive strategy to design energy-efficient buildings and improve indoor air quality.Therefore,accurate modeling of the NV effects is a basic requirement to include this technique during the building design process.However,there is an important lack of wind pressure coefficients(CP)data,essential input parameters for NV models.Besides this,there are no simple but still reliable tools to predict CP data on buildings with arbitrary shapes and surrounding conditions,which means a significant limitation to NV modeling in real applications.For this reason,the present contribution proposes a novel cloud-based platform to predict wind pressure coefficients on buildings.The platform comprises a set of tools for performing fully unattended computational fluid dynamics(CFD)simulations of the atmospheric boundary layer and getting reliable CP data for actual scenarios.CFD-expert decisions throughout the entire workflow are implemented to automatize the generation of the computational domain,the meshing procedure the solution stage,and the post-processing of the results.To evaluate the performance of the platform,an exhaustive validation against wind tunnel experimental data is carried out for a wide range of case studies.These include buildings with openings,balconies,irregular floor-plans,and surrounding urban environments.The C_(P) results are in close agreement with experimental data,reducing 60%-77% the prediction error on the openings regarding the EnergyPlus software.The platform introduced shows being a reliable and practical C_(P) data source for NV modeling in real building design scenarios.

Software Practicalization for Analysis of Wind-Induced Vibrations of Large Span Roof Structures

Wind loads are key considerations in the structural design of large-span structures since wind loads can be more important than earthquake loads, especially for large flexible structures. The analysis of wind loads on large span roof structures (LSRS) requires large amounts of calculations. Due to the com- bined effects of horizontal and vertical winds, the wind-induced vibrations of LSRS are analyzed in this pa- per with the frequency domain method as the first application of method for the analysis of the wind re- sponse of LSRS. A program is developed to analyze the wind-induced vibrations due to a combination of wind vibration modes. The program, which predicts the wind vibration coefficient and the wind pressure act- ing on the LSRS, interfaces with other finite element software to facilitate analysis of wind loads in the de- sign of LSRS. The effectiveness and accuracy of the frequency domain method have been verified by nu- merical analyses of practical projects.

Wind pressure acting on greenhouses: A review

Greenhouses are widely used in agricultural and horticultural production.With the characteristics of lightweight,small stiffness and high flexibility,greenhouses are sensitive to wind loads.In the calculation of wind loads,the wind pressure coefficient(Cp)is essential.The rationality of the value directly affects the safety and economy of greenhouses.Therefore,the Cp values estimation is one of the most important issues in the design of greenhouses.In order to make full use of the existing research results,in this study,three main methods for estimating Cp values were analyzed,namely,full-scale field experiment,wind tunnel experiment and numerical simulation.Five factors influencing the Cp values were then reviewed including greenhouse design parameters,greenhouse group,overhanging eaves,ventilation and wind direction.Based on the existing researches,suggestions for future development and research work were also put forward.Owing to the flexibility and deformability of greenhouses,the fluid-solid coupling method should be used to analyze the effects of vibrations on wind pressures.The interaction of building parameters(such as the number of spans,ridge height,roof shape and slope angle)and terrain around the greenhouse should be taken into consideration comprehensively.The destructive vortices occurred on the greenhouse should be further investigated.

Mapping frequent spatio-temporal wind profile patterns using multi-dimensional sequential pattern mining

Holistic understanding of wind behaviour over space,time and height is essential for harvesting wind energy application.This study presents a novel approach for mapping frequent wind profile patterns using multidimensional sequential pattern mining(MDSPM).This study is illustrated with a time series of 24 years of European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts European Reanalysis-Interim gridded(0.125°×0.125°)wind data for the Netherlands every 6 h and at six height levels.The wind data were first transformed into two spatio-temporal sequence databases(for speed and direction,respectively).Then,the Linear time Closed Itemset Miner Sequence algorithm was used to extract the multidimensional sequential patterns,which were then visualized using a 3D wind rose,a circular histogram and a geographical map.These patterns were further analysed to determine their wind shear coefficients and turbulence intensities as well as their spatial overlap with current areas with wind turbines.Our analysis identified four frequent wind profile patterns.One of them highly suitable to harvest wind energy at a height of 128 m and 68.97%of the geographical area covered by this pattern already contains wind turbines.This study shows that the proposed approach is capable of efficiently extracting meaningful patterns from complex spatio-temporal datasets.

Structural Parameters of Wind Protection of Shelterbelts and Application

A new structural parameter of shelterbelts, above-ground density of biomass volume, was putforward in this paper. Its practicality in managements of the shelterbelts and its physical meaning of windreduction were expounded. Analytical relations between the new parameter and often-used parameters(permeability and porosity) were deduced. An example was given to show the application of the newparameter in the management of shelterbelts.