Effects of wind guide plates on wind velocity acceleration and dune leveling： a case study in Ulan Buh Desert, China

The areas used to be covered by shifting sand dunes have been reclaimed rapidly in recent years. However, it is a challenge to reclaim high sand dunes because it is rather costly to level the high dunes to gentle arable lands. In this study, a wind guide plate was used to change the characteristics of natural wind to level the sand dunes. The use of wind energy could significantly increase the efficiency of dune leveling and decrease the cost. Low wind velocity is a typical characteristic in Ulan Buh Desert of China where the average wind speed is much lower than the threshold velocity for sand movement. The experiment of this study was conducted to accelerate the wind velocity by a wind guide plate to level a sand dune. Results show that the threshold velocity for sand movement is 3.32 m/s at 10 cm above the sand surface in Ulan Buh Desert. A wind guide plate set at an angle less than 50° could significantly increase the wind velocity. The wind velocity could be accelerated up to the threshold velocity for sand movement behind a plate when the plate is at the angles of 20°, 25°, 35° and 40°. The most significant acceleration of wind velocity appears at 1.5 and 3.0 m behind the plate with an angle of 25°. An obvious wind velocity acceleration zone exists behind the wind guide plate when the angles are at 25°, 35°, 40° and 45°, with the most obvious zone under the angle of 45°. The results also show that the total amount of sand transferred over the experimental period increased by 6.1% under the effects of wind guide plates compared to the sand moved without wind guide plates. The results of the study will provide theoretical and practical supports for desert management in sand dune areas.

Aerodynamic unstable critical wind velocity for three-dimensionalopen cable-membrane structures

The aerodynamic unstable critical wind velocity for three-dimensional open cable-membrane structures is investigated. The geometric nonlinearity is introduced into the dynamic equilibrium equations of structures. The disturbances on the structural surface caused by the air flow are simulated by a vortex layer with infinite thickness in the structures. The unsteady Bernoulli equation and the circulation theorem are applied in order to express the aerodynamic pressure as the function of the vortex density. The vortex density is then obtained with the vortex lattice method considering the coupling boundary condition. From the analytical expressions of the unstable critical wind velocities, numerical results and some useful conclusions are obtained. It is found that the initial curvature of open cable-membrane structures has clear influence on the critical wind velocities of the structures.

Prediction of extreme wind velocity at the site of the Runyang Suspension Bridge

This paper presents a distribution free method for predicting the extreme wind velocity from wind monitoring data at the site of the Runyang Suspension Bridge (RSB), China using the maximum entropy theory. The maximum entropy theory is a rational approach for choosing the most unbiased probability distribution from a small sample, which is consistent with available data and contains a minimum of spurious information. In this paper, the theory is used for estimating a joint probability density function considering the combined action of wind speed and direction based on statistical analysis of wind monitoring data at the site of the RSB. The joint probability distribution model is further used to estimate the extreme wind velocity at the deck level of the RSB. The results of the analysis reveal that the probability density function of the maximum entropy method achieves a result that fits well with the monitoring data. Hypothesis testing shows that the distributions of the wind velocity data collected during the past three years do not obey the Gumbel distribution. Finally, our comparison shows that the wind predictions of the maximum entropy method are higher than that of the Gumbel distribution, but much lower than the design wind speed.

Noise reduction in LOS wind velocity of Doppler lidar using discrete wavelet analysis

The line of sight (LOS) wind velocity can be determined from the incoherent Doppler lidar backscattering signals. Noise and interference in the measurement greatly degrade the inversion accuracy. In this paper, we apply the discrete wavelet denoising method by using biorthogonal wavelets and adopt a distance-dependent thresholds algorithm to improve the accuracy of wind velocity measurement by incoherent Doppler lidar. The noisy simulation data are processed and compared with the true LOS wind velocity. The results are compared by the evaluation of both the standard deviation and correlation coefficient. The results suggest that wavelet denoising with distance-dependent thresholds can considerably reduce the noise and interfering turbulence for wind lidar measurement.

Wind Velocity Reduction of Coastal Shelterbelt System in Shanghai,East China

Wind velocity reduction of coastal shelterbelt system was monitored for 1 month in 3 weather stations in Nanhui,Shanghai,and the benefits of shelterbelt system and trunk shelterbelt forest were compared in this paper.The results showed the wind velocity at the first weather station(W1),which located in front of trunk shelterbelt forest by the seaside,was the biggest,with the average of 9.36 m/s;the wind velocity at the second weather station(W2) was lower than that at W1,with the range of 0 to 18.2 m/s and the average of 6.39 m/s,and the wind velocity at the third weather station(W3) was the lowest,with the average of 2.58 m/s.Both the ratio of W2 to W1 and the ratio of W3 to W1 ranged from 0 to 100%,but most of the ratio of W2 to W1(89.59%) was above 20%,and most of the ratio of W3 to W1(95.52%) was below 50%,which shows bigger wind velocity reduction in shelterbelts system than in trunk shelterbelt forest.With the wind scale increased from 1 to 8 scale at W2 and W3,the wind velocity increased.But the reduction in wind velocity decreased.

Efficient method for wind velocity estimation and power-extraction maximization using a fourth-order Luenberger observer in a wind-energy-conversion system

This paper proposes an advanced method for estimating numerous parameters in a wind-energy-conversion system with high precision,especially in a transient state,including the rotation speed and mechanical torque of the turbine as well as wind velocity.The suggested approach is designed into two parts.First,a fourth-order Luenberger observer is proposed to take into account the significant fluctuations of the mechanical torque that can be caused by wind gusts.This observer provides an accurate estimate of speed and mechanical torque in all weather conditions and especially when the wind is gusting.At the same time,the wind velocity is calculated using the Luenberger observer outputs and a model of the mechanical power generated by the turbine.Second,these estimated parameters are exploited as input in a maximum-power-point tracking(MPPT)algorithm using the tip-speed ratio(TSR)to improve the sensorless strategy control.Simulation results were performed using MATLAB®/Simulink®for both wind gust and real wind profiles.We have verified that for wind gusts with jumps ranging from 3 to 7 m/s,the new observer manages to better follow the rotation speed and the torque of the turbine compared to a usual observer.In addition,we demonstrated that by applying the proposed estimator in the improved TSR-MPPT strategy,it is possible to extract 3.3%more energy compared to traditional approaches.

Preliminary Study on Vertical Velocity Caused by Katabatic Wind in Antarctica and Its Influence on Atmospheric Circulation

The vertical velocity at the top of Ekman layer caused by katabatic winds is proposed and deduced. By computing actual data we get a distribution of the velocities over Antarctica. The distribution plays a positive role in maintaining the cyclone and anticyclone over Antarctica.

Running safety analysis of a train on the Tsing Ma Bridge under turbulent winds

The dynamic responses of the Tsing Ma suspension bridge and the running behaviors of trains on the bridge under turbulent wind actions are analyzed by a three-dimensional wind-train-bridge interaction model. This model consists of a spatial finite element bridge model, a train model composed of eight 4-axle identical coaches of 27 degrees-of-freedom, and a turbulent wind model. The fluctuating wind forces, including the buffeting forces and the self-excited forces, act on the bridge only, since the train runs inside the bridge deck. The dynamic responses of the bridge are calculated and some results are compared with data measured from Typhoon York. The runnability of the train passing through the Tsing Ma suspension bridge at different speeds is researched under turbulent winds with different wind velocities. Then, the threshold curve of wind velocity for ensuring the running safety of the train in the bridge deck is proposed, from which the allowable train speed at different wind velocities can be determined. The numerical results show that rail traffic on the Tsing Ma suspension bridge should be closed as the mean wind velocity reaches 30 m/s.

Effects of sand-fixing and windbreak forests on wind flow:a synthesis of results from field experiments and numerical simulations

Sand-fixing and windbreak forests are widely used to protect or/and improve the ecological environments in arid and semi-arid regions. A full understanding of wind flow characteristics is essential to arranging the patterns of these protective forests for enhancing the effectiveness. In this study, the wind velocity over the underlying surface with sand-fixing forests and windbreak forests at the heights of 1–49 m was monitored from two 50-m high observation towers in an oasis of Minqin, Gansu Province of China. The wind velocities were simulated at different locations over these protective forests between those two towers by a two-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics（CFD） model. The results showed that at the heights of 1–49 m, the wind velocity profiles followed a classical logarithm law at the edge of the oasis and a multilayer structure inside the oasis. With increasing number of sand-fixing forest and windbreak forest arrays, the wind velocity at the heights of 1–49 m generally decreased along the downstream direction of the prevailing wind. Specifically, below the height of windbreak forests, the wind velocity decelerates as the airflow approaches to the windbreak forests and then accelerates as the airflow passes over the windbreak forests. In contrast, above the height of windbreak forests, the wind velocity accelerates as the airflow approaches to the windbreak forests and then generally decelerates as the airflow passes over the windbreak forests. Both the array number and array spacing of sand-fixing and windbreak forests could influence the wind velocity. The wind protection effects of sand-fixing forests were closely related to the array spacing of windbreak forests and increased with the addition of sand-fixing forests when the array of the forests was adequately spaced. However, if the array spacing of windbreak forests was smaller than seven times of the heights of windbreak forests, the effects were reduced or completely masked by the effects of windbreak forests. The results could offer theoretical guidelines on how to systematically arrange the patterns of sand-fixing and windbreak forests for preventing wind erosion in the most convenient and the cheapest ways.

Effect of the W-beam central guardrails on wind-blown sand deposition on desert expressways in sandy regions

Many desert expressways are affected by the deposition of the wind-blown sand,which might block the movement of vehicles or cause accidents.W-beam central guardrails,which are used to improve the safety of desert expressways,are thought to influence the deposition of the wind-blown sand,but this has yet not to be studied adequately.To address this issue,we conducted a wind tunnel test to simulate and explore how the W-beam central guardrails affect the airflow,the wind-blown sand flux and the deposition of the wind-blown sand on desert expressways in sandy regions.The subgrade model is 3.5 cm high and 80.0 cm wide,with a bank slope ratio of 1:3.The W-beam central guardrails model is 3.7 cm high,which included a 1.4-cm-high W-beam and a 2.3-cm-high stand column.The wind velocity was measured by using pitot-static tubes placed at nine different heights(1,2,3,5,7,10,15,30 and 50 cm)above the floor of the chamber.The vertical distribution of the wind-blown sand flux in the wind tunnel was measured by using the sand sampler,which was sectioned into 20 intervals.In addition,we measured the wind-blown sand flux in the field at K50 of the Bachu-Shache desert expressway in the Taklimakan Desert on 11 May 2016,by using a customized 78-cm-high gradient sand sampler for the sand flux structure test.Obstruction by the subgrade leads to the formation of two weak wind zones located at the foot of the windward slope and at the leeward slope of the subgrade,and the wind velocity on the leeward side weakens significantly.The W-beam central guardrails decrease the leeward wind velocity,whereas the velocity increases through the bottom gaps and over the top of the W-beam central guardrails.The vertical distribution of the wind-blown sand flux measured by wind tunnel follows neither a power-law nor an exponential function when affected by either the subgrade or the W-beam central guardrails.At 0.0H and 0.5H(where H=3.5 cm,which is the height of the subgrade),the sand transport is less at the 3 cm height from the subgrade surface than at the 1 and 5 cm heights as a result of obstruction by the W-beam central guardrails,and the maximum sand transportation occurs at the 5 cm height affected by the subgrade surface.The average saltation height in the presence of the W-beam central guardrails is greater than the subgrade height.The field test shows that the sand deposits on the overtaking lane leeward of the W-beam central guardrails and that the thickness of the deposited sand is determined by the difference in the sand mass transported between the inlet and outlet points,which is consistent with the position of the minimum wind velocity in the wind tunnel test.The results of this study could help us to understand the hazards of the wind-blown sand onto subgrade with the W-beam central guardrails.

Numerical simulation on ionic wind in circular channels

Ionic wind induced by direct-current corona discharge has attracted considerable interest because of its low energy consumption, low noise emission, flexible designs, and lack of moving parts. The purpose of this study is to investigate the configuration parameters to improve the velocity of the ionic wind. Accordingly, this study develops a three-dimensional(3 D) model of circular tube with multi-needle-to-mesh electrode configurations, in this model, the influences of various parameters were explored,such as the mesh gap, the distribution of needle electrodes, the number of needle electrodes,and the radius of the circular channel. The numerical research results showed that the mesh gap, the distribution of needle electrodes, and the radius of the circular tube significantly affected the velocity of the ionic wind. When mesh gap is 12 mm,which indicates that there is an optimal mesh gap which can enhance the velocity of the ionic wind. What is more, changing the distribution of needle electrodes and increasing the number of needle electrodes can effectively improve the velocity of the ionic wind, the optimum distribution α of needle electrodes is 0.7–0.9, which greatly increase the velocity of the ionic wind. However, for multi-needle-to-mesh structure, the improvement of the radius of the circular channel is conducive to enhance the velocity and improve the velocity distribution.

Non-Gaussian Lagrangian Stochastic Model for Wind Field Simulation in the Surface Layer

Wind field simulation in the surface layer is often used to manage natural resources in terms of air quality,gene flow(through pollen drift),and plant disease transmission(spore dispersion).Although Lagrangian stochastic(LS)models describe stochastic wind behaviors,such models assume that wind velocities follow Gaussian distributions.However,measured surface-layer wind velocities show a strong skewness and kurtosis.This paper presents an improved model,a non-Gaussian LS model,which incorporates controllable non-Gaussian random variables to simulate the targeted non-Gaussian velocity distribution with more accurate skewness and kurtosis.Wind velocity statistics generated by the non-Gaussian model are evaluated by using the field data from the Cooperative Atmospheric Surface Exchange Study,October 1999 experimental dataset and comparing the data with statistics from the original Gaussian model.Results show that the non-Gaussian model improves the wind trajectory simulation by stably producing precise skewness and kurtosis in simulated wind velocities without sacrificing other features of the traditional Gaussian LS model,such as the accuracy in the mean and variance of simulated velocities.This improvement also leads to better accuracy in friction velocity(i.e.,a coupling of three-dimensional velocities).The model can also accommodate various non-Gaussian wind fields and a wide range of skewness–kurtosis combinations.Moreover,improved skewness and kurtosis in the simulated velocity will result in a significantly different dispersion for wind/particle simulations.Thus,the non-Gaussian model is worth applying to wind field simulation in the surface layer.

Changes in wind activity from 1957 to 2011 and their possible influence on aeolian desertification in northern China

Wind activity is proved to have significant impacts on aeolian desertification. Clarifying the fluctuations and change trend of wind velocity is important for understanding their influence on aeolian desertification. In this study, we used a dataset of wind velocities collected from 93 meteorological stations across northern China from 1957 to 2011 to analyze the changes in wind activity during this period. We tested the monotonic and step（abrupt） trends for annual and seasonal data of mean wind velocity by using Mann-Kendall and Mann-Whitney tests, respectively. The results indicated that the annual mean wind velocity decreased by 0.83 m/s from 1957 to 2011. The decreasing trends were also significant（P〈0.01） for each season. The magnitude of the decrease was smallest in the east of northern China and largest in the west of northern China, and the most remarkable decrease occurred in the northwest of northern China. Abrupt decreases in annual and seasonal mean wind velocities occurred in the mid-1980 s, which was consistent with the changes in aeolian desertification since the mid-1980 s in northern China. As revealed by our study, although both modern aeolian desertification and ecosystem rehabilitation are affected by human activities to some extent, they are also likely to be strongly controlled by climate change, especially by wind activity.

Investigating the Prospect of Rooftop Flapping Wind Turbine in Bangladesh

The objective of this research is mainly focused on environment-friendly and moderately slow flapping wind turbine which can easily operate in or near urban areas or rooftops owing to scale merit with low-frequency turbine noise, installation cost, avian mortality rate and safety consideration etc. We considered lift and drag based slow flapping type wind turbine to operate in the residential arena. In order to study the flapping wind turbine performance, we collect ten years of wind velocity records from the Bangladesh Meteorological Department for two different stations in Bangladesh. The velocity contours and profiles have been the points of observation to find out the suitable turbine shape having the efficiency to initiate the turbine rotation. We made a simple comparative study of the wind velocities profile obtained from the different stations in Bangladesh. A simple numerical study has been conducted and presented by graphical analysis to inspect the wind flow above the constructed structure. Finally, we analyze the wind velocity for the individual months and determine the turbine performance in terms of torque for the average wind velocities of Dhaka and Cox’s Bazar stations.

A New Method for Calculating the Wind Speed Distribution of a Moving Tropical Cyclone

Based on gradient wind equations, including frictional force, and considering the effect of the movement of a tropical cyclone on wind speed, the Fujita Formula is improved and further simplified, and the numerical scheme for calculating the maximum wind speed radius and wind velocity distribution of a moving tropical cyclone is derived. In addition, the effect of frictional force on the internal structure of the tropical cyclone is discussed. By comparison with observational data, this numerical scheme demonstrates great advantages, i.e. it can not only describe the asymmetrical wind speed distribution of a tropical cyclone reasonably, but can also calculate the maximum wind speed in each direction within the typhoon domain much more accurately. Furthermore, the combination of calculated and analyzed wind speed distributions by the scheme is perfectly consistent with observations.

A transport-rate model of wind-blown sand

Sand transport by wind plays an important role in environmental problems.Formulating the sand-transport rate model has been of continuing significance,because the majority of the existing models relate sand-transport rate to the wind-shear velocity.However,the wind-shear velocity readapted to blown sand is difficult to determine from the measured wind profiles when sand movement occurs,especially at high wind velocity.Detailed wind tunnel tests were carried out to reformulate the sand-transport rate model,followed by attempts to relate sand-transport rate to parameters of wind velocity,threshold shear-velocity,and grain size.Finally,we validated the model based on the data from field observations.

Investigating the Prospect of Small-Scale Wind Turbines Based on Regional Wind Velocities in Bangladesh

The wind turbine has the advantage of operating uninterruptedly, which ensures a constant source of electricity. This investigation includes a clear overview of the wind velocity, the flow direction;the amount of energy reserved, suitable regions for wind turbine installation, etc. The feasibility and possibility of installing a wind energy conversion system for several locations in Bangladesh are analyzed. A brief study of wind characteristics in different locations in Bangladesh is reported. Wind data obtained from the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) for Mongla, Patuakhali, Kutubdia, and Bhola stations are analyzed through wind rose, frequency distribution, and average wind velocity. The performance of suitable small-scale wind turbines will be assessed in order to confirm the prospect of wind turbines in Bangladesh.

Effects of gravel mulch on aeolian transport:a field wind tunnel simulation

The shape,size and coverage of gravels have significant impacts on aeolian sand transport.This study provided an understanding of aeolian transport over the gravel mulching surfaces at different wind velocities by means of a mobile wind tunnel simulation.The tested gravel coverage increased from 5% to 80%,with a progressive increment of 5%.The gravels used in the experiments have three sizes in diameter.Wind velocities were measured using 10 sand-proof pitot-static probes,and mean velocity fields were obtained and discussed.The results showed that mean velocity fields obtained over different gravel mulches were similar.The analysis of wind speed patterns revealed an inherent link between gravel mulches and mean airflow characteristics on the gravel surfaces.The optimal gravel coverage is considered to be the critical level above or below which aeolian transport characteristics differ strongly.According to the present study,the optimal gravel coverage was found to be around 30% or 40%.Threshold velocity linearly increased with gravel coverage.Sand transport rate first increased with height above the wind tunnel floor（Hf）,reaching a peak at some midpoint,and then decreased.

Thermal Conductivity and Heat Transfer Coefficient of Concrete

A very simple model for predicting thermal conductivity based on its definiensis was presented. The thermal conductivity obtained using the model provided a good coincidence to the investigations performed by other authors. The heat transfer coefficient was determined by inverse analysis using the temperature measurements. From experimental results, it is noted that heat transfer coefficient increases with the increase of wind velocity and relative humidity, a prediction equation on heat transfer coefficient about wind velocity and relative humidity is given.

Geo-environmental parametric 3D models of SARS-CoV-2 virus circulation in hospital ventilation systems

The novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has the potential to cause natural ventilation systems in hospital environments to be rendered inadequate, not only for workers but also for people who transit through these environments even for a limited duration. Studies in of the fields of geosciences and engineering,when combined with appropriate technologies, allow for the possibility of reducing the impacts of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the environment, including those of hospitals which are critical centers for healthcare. In this work, we build parametric 3D models to assess the possible circulation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the natural ventilation system of a hospital built to care infected patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Building Information Modeling(BIM) was performed, generating 3D models of hospital environments utilizing Revit software for Autodesk CFD 2021. The evaluation considered dimensional analyses of 0°, 45°, 90° and 180°. The analysis of natural ventilation patterns on both internal and external surfaces and the distribution of windows in relation to the displacement dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 virus through the air were considered. The results showed that in the external area of the hospital, the wind speed reached velocities up to 2.1 m/s when entering the building through open windows. In contact with the furniture, this value decreased to 0.78 m/s. In some internal isolation wards that house patients with COVID-19, areas that should be equipped with negative room pressure, air velocity was null. Our study provides insights into the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 contamination in internal hospital environments as well as external areas surrounding hospitals, both of which encounter high pedestrian traffic in cities worldwide.