• Wind and Structures
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.113-144
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• 2014

Separation bubble and conical vortices on a large-span flat roof were observed in this study through the use of flow visualization. The results indicated that separation bubble occurred when the flow was normal to the leading edge of the flat roof. Conical vortices that occur under the cornering flow were observed near the leading edge, and their appearance was influenced by the wind angle. When the wind changed from along the diagonal to deviating from the diagonal of the roof, the conical vortex close to the approaching flow changed from circular to be more oblong shaped. Based on the measured velocities in the conical vortices by flow visualization, a proposed two-dimensional vortex model was improved and validated by simplifying the velocity profile between the vortex and the potential flow region. Through measured velocities and parameters of vortices, the intensities of conical vortices and separation bubble on a large-span flat roof under different wind directions were provided. The quasi-steady theory was corrected by including the effect of vortices. With this improved two-dimensional vortex model and the corrected quasi-steady theory, the mean and peak suction beneath the cores of the conical vortices and separation bubble can be predicted, and these were verified by measured pressures on a larger-scale model of the flat roof.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.131-146
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• 2001

A full-scale synchronized data acquisition system was set up on the roof of the experimental building at the Texas Tech University Wind Engineering Research Field Laboratory to simultaneously collect approaching wind data, conical vortex images, and roof corner suction pressure data. One-second conditional sampling technique has been applied in the data analysis, which makes it possible to separately evaluate the influencing effects of the horizontal wind angle of attack, ${\theta}$, and the vertical wind angle of attack, ${\varphi}$. Results show a clear cause-and-effect relationship between the incident wind, conical vortices, and the induced roof-corner high-suction pressures. The horizontal wind angle of attack, ${\theta}$, is shown to be the most significant factor in influencing the overall vortex structure and the suction pressures beneath. It is further revealed that the vertical wind angle of attack, ${\varphi}$, plays a critical role in generating the instantaneous peak suction pressures near the roof corner.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2000.04b
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• pp.667-672
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• 2000

The Characteristics of the conical vortices on the roof surface of a low-rise building has been investigated by using a PIV(Particle Image Velocimerty) technique. The scaled model of TTU building with 1:92 scaling ratio was used. The Reynolds number based on the free stream velocity and the length of the model was $1.96{\times}10^5$. When the angle of attack for the building model is $45^{\circ}$, the conical vortices are occurred symmetrically and the center of vortices are changed with respect to the angle of the approaching flow. The rotating direction of the conical vortices found to be counter-rotating. The secondary vortex motions are investigated using the instantaneous flow field data.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.357-372
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• 2005

Mean and extreme pressure distributions on a large cantilevered flat roof model are measured in a boundary layer wind tunnel. The largest peak suction values are observed from pressure taps beneath conical "delta-wing type" corner vortices that occur for oblique winds, then the characteristics and causes of the local peak suctions are discussed in detail. Power spectra of fluctuating wind pressures measured from some typical taps located at the roof edges under different wind directions are presented, and coherence functions of fluctuating pressures are also obtained. Based on these results, it is verified that the peak suctions are highly correlated with the conical vortices. Furthermore, according to the characteristics of wind loads on the roof, an aerodynamic solution to minimize the peak suctions by venting the leading edges and the corners of the roof is recommended. The experimental results show that the suggested strategy can effectively control the generation of the conical vortices and make a reduction of 50% in mean pressures and 25% in extreme local pressures at wind sensitive locations on the roof.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.663-684
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• 2016

Conical vortices generated at the corner regions of large-span flat roofs have been investigated by using the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique. Mean and instantaneous vector fields for velocity, vorticity, and streamlines were measured at three visual planes and for two different flow angles of $15^{\circ}$. The results indicated that conical vortices occur when the wind is not perpendicular to the front edge. The location of the leading edge corresponding to the negative peak vorticity and maximum turbulent kinetic energy was found at the center of the conical vortex. The wind pressure reaches the maximum near the leading edge roof corner, and a triangle of severe suctions zone appears downstream. The mean pressure in uniform flow is greater than that under turbulent flow condition, while a significant increase in the fluctuating wind pressure occurs in turbulent streams. From its emergence to stability, the shape of the vortex cross-section is nearly elliptical, with increasing area. The angle that forms between the vortex axis and the leading edge is much smaller in turbulent streams. The detailed flow structures and characteristics obtained through FLUENT simulation are in agreement with the experimental results. The three dimensional (3-D) structure of the conical vortices is clearly observed from the comprehensive arrangement of several visual planes, and the inner link was established between the vortex evolution process, vortex core position and pressure distribution.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.25-41
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• 2017

The effects of finite cylinder free end shape on the mean and fluctuating wind pressures were investigated experimentally and numerically by using three different roof shapes: flat, conical and hemispherical. The pressure distributions on the roofs and the side walls of the finite cylinders partially immersed in a simulated atmospheric boundary layer have been obtained for three different roof shapes. Realizable $k-{\varepsilon}$ turbulence model was used for numerical simulations. Change in roof shapes has caused significant differences on the pressure distributions. When compared the pressure distributions on the different roofs, it is seen from the results that hemispherical roof has the most critical pressure field among the others. It is found a good agreement between numerical and experimental results.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.713-721
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• 2001

Characteristics of the conical vortices on the roof corner of a rectangular prism have been investigated by using a PIV(Particle Image Velocimetry) technique. The Reynolds number based on the free stream velocity and the height of the model was 5.3$\times$10$^3$. The mean, instantaneous velocity vector fields, vorticity fields, and turbulent kinetic energy distribution were measured for two different angles of attack, 30$^{\circ}$and 45$^{\circ}$. The PIV measurements clearly observed not only the conical main vortex and the secondary vortex but also the tertiary vortex which is firstly reported in this paper. Asymmetric formation of the corner vortex for the case of 30$^{\circ}$angle of attack produces relatively the high magnitude of vorticity and turbulent kinetic energy around the bigger vortex which generates the peak suction pressure on the roof. Fairly symmetric features of the roof vortex are observed in the case of 45$^{\circ}$angle of attack, however, the dynamic characteristics are proved to be asymmetric due to the rectangular shape of the roof.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.279-298
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• 2001

The greatest suction on the cladding of flat roof low-rise buildings is known to occur beneath the conical vortices that form along the roof edges for cornering winds. In a companion paper, a model of the vortex flow mechanism has been developed which can be used to connect the surface pressure beneath the vortex to adjacent flow conditions. The flow model is experimentally validated in this paper using simultaneous velocity and surface pressure measurement on a 1 : 50 model of the Texas Tech University experimental building in a wind tunnel simulated atmospheric boundary layer. Flow visualization gives further insight into the nature of peak suction events. The flow model is shown to account for the increase in suction towards the roof corner as well as the presence of the highest suction at wind angles of $60^{\circ}$. It includes a parameter describing vortex suction strength, which is shown to be related to the nature of the reattachment, and also suggests how different components of upstream turbulence could influence the surface pressure.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.227-246
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• 2001

The objective of this study is to understand the flow above the front edge of low-rise building roofs. The greatest suction on the building is known to occur at this location as a result of the formation of conical vortices in the separated flow zone. It is expected that the relationship between this suction and upstream flow conditions can be better understood through the analysis of the vortex flow mechanism. Experimental measurements were used, along with predictions from numerical simulations of delta wing vortex flows, to develop a model of the pressure field within and beneath the conical vortex. The model accounts for the change in vortex suction with wind angle, and includes a parameter indicating the strength of the vortex. The model can be applied to both mean and time dependent surface pressures, and is validated in a companion paper.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.4 no.5
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• pp.441-454
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• 2001

Conical vortices on roof corners of a prismatic low-rise building have been investigated by using the PIV(Particle Image Velocimetry) technique. The Reynolds number based on the free stream velocity and model height was $5.3{\times}10^3$. Mean and instantaneous vector fields for velocity, vorticity, and turbulent kinetic energy were measured at two vertical planes and for two different flow angles of $30^{\circ}$ and $45^{\circ}$. The measurements provided a clear view of the complex flow structures on roof corners such as a pair of counter rotating conical vortices, secondary vortices, and tertiary vortices. They also enabled accurate and easy measurement of the size of vortices. Additionally, we could easily locate the centers of the vortices from the ensemble averaged velocity fields. It was observed that the flow angle of a $30^{\circ}$ produces a higher level of vorticity and turbulent kinetic energy in one of the pair of vortices than does the $45^{\circ}$ flow angle.