• Wind and Structures
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.123-133
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• 2013

Pressure field and velocity profiles in a thunderstorm downburst are significantly different from that of an atmospheric boundary layer wind. A model of the pressure field in a downburst is presented in accordance with the experimental and numerical results. Large eddy simulation method is employed to investigate transient pressure field on impingement ground of a downburst. In addition, velocity profiles of the downburst are studied, and good agreement is achieved between the present results and the data obtained from empirical models.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.129-146
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• 2024

Aiming at the problem of non-stationary wind field simulation of downbursts, a non-stationary down-burst generation system was designed by adding a nozzle and program control valve to the inlet of the original wall jet model. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method was used to simulate the downburst. Firstly, the two-dimensional (2D) model was used to study the outflow situation, and the database of working conditions was formed. Then the combined superposition of working conditions was carried out to simulate the full-scale measured downburst. The three-dimensional (3D) large eddy simulation (LES) was used for further verification based on this superposition condition. Finally, the wind tunnel test is used to further verify. The results show that after the valve is opened, the wind ve-locity at low altitude increases rapidly, then stays stable, and the wind velocity at each point fluctuates. The velocity of the 2D model matches the wind velocity trend of the measured downburst well. The 3D model matches the measured downburst flow in terms of wind velocity and pulsation characteris-tics. The time-varying mean wind velocity of the wind tunnel test is in better agreement with the meas-ured time-varying mean wind velocity of the downburst. The power spectrum of fluctuating wind ve-locity at different vertical heights for the test condition also agrees well with the von Karman spectrum, and conforms to the "-5/3" law. The vertical profile of the maximum time-varying average wind veloci-ty obtained from the test shows the basic characteristics of the typical wind profile of the downburst. The effectiveness of the downburst generation system is verified.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.261-275
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• 2024

Before performing an experimental study on the downburst-generated wave, it is necessary to examine the scale effects and corresponding corrections or compensations. Analysis of similarity is conducted to conclude the non-dimensional force ratios that account for the dynamic similarity in the interaction of downburst with wave between the prototype and the scale model, along with the corresponding scale factors. The fractional volume of fluid (VOF) method in association with the impinging jet model is employed to explore the characteristics of the downburst-generated wave numerically, and the validity of the proposed scaling method is verified. The study shows that the location of the maximum radial wind velocity in a downburst-wave field is a little higher than that identified in a downburst over the land, which might be attributed to the presence of the wave which changes the roughness of the underlying surface of the downburst. The impinging airflow would generate a concavity in the free surface of the water around the stagnation point of the downburst, with a diameter of about two times the jet diameter (D_jet). The maximum wave height appears at the location of 1.5D_jet from the stagnation point. Reynolds number has an insignificant influence on the scale effects, in accordance with the numerical investigation of the 30 scale models with the Reynolds number varying from 3.85 × 10⁴ to 7.30 × 10⁹. The ratio of the inertial force of air to the gravitational force of water, which is denoted by G, is found to be the most significant factor that would affect the interaction of downburst with wave. For the correction or compensation of the scale effects, fitting curves for the measures of the downburst-wave field (e.g., wind profile, significant wave height), along with the corresponding equations, are presented as a function of the parameter G.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.231-243
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• 2020

Downbursts are acknowledged for being a major loading hazard for horizontally-extending structures like transmission line systems. With these structures being inherently flexible, it is important to characterize the turbulence associated with the wind flow of downburst events being essential to quantify dynamic excitations on structures. Accordingly, the current study numerically characterizes the downburst wind field of open terrain simulated at the Wind Engineering, Energy and Environment (WindEEE) dome testing facility at The University of Western Ontario in Canada through a high-resolution large eddy simulation (LES). The study validates the numerical simulation considering both the mean and the turbulent components of the flow. It then provides a detailed visual description of the flow at WindEEE through the capabilities enabled by LES to identify the key factors affecting the flow. The study also presents the spatial distribution of turbulence intensities and length scales computed from the numerical model and compares them with previous values reported in the literature. The comparison shows the ability of the downburst simulated at WindEEE to reproduce turbulence characteristics similar to those reported from field measurements. The study also indicates that downburst turbulence is well-correlated circumferentially which imposes high correlated loads on horizontally-distributed structures such as transmission lines.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.133-149
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• 2009

This paper outlines the results of a physical simulation (at a 1:700 - 1:1000 geometric scale) of a thunderstorm downburst. Three different methods are examined in order to generate the time dependent nature of a downburst: directly controlling the fans and via two different types of opening apertures. Similarities are shown to exist between each method, although the results obtained from one approach are favoured since they appear to be independent of the downdraft velocity. Significant run-to-run variations between each experiment are discovered and in general it is found beneficial to interpret the results in terms of 10 run ensemble averages. An attempt to simulate a translating downburst is also undertaken and the results are shown to compare favourably with full-scale data.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.141-161
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• 2024

Engineering structures often suffer significant damage in the horizontal outflow region of downburst. The wall jet model, which simplifies the simulation device by only modeling the horizontal outflow region of downburst, has been widely employed to study downburst flow characteristics. However, research on downburst wind fields over hilly terrain using the wall jet model is limited, and the relationship between the downburst wind fields generated by wall jet and impinging jet remains unclear. This study investigates the flow characteristics of downburst-like wind over a 3D ideal hill model using wind tunnel tests with the wall jet and impinging jet models. The effects of hill height, slope, shape, and radial position on the speed-up ratio are examined using the wall jet flow. The results indicate that slope and radial position significantly affect the speed-up ratio, while hill height have a slight impact and shape have a minimal impact. Additionally, this study investigates the wind field characteristics over flat terrain using the impinging jet, and investigated the connection between the impinging jet model and the wall jet. Based on this connection, a comparison of the downburst-like flow characteristics over the same 3D ideal hill using the wall jet and impinging jet models is conducted, which further validates the reliability of the wall jet model for studying downburst flow characteristics over hilly terrain.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.419-440
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• 2006

This article synthesizes the literature on the meteorology, experimental simulation, and wind engineering ramifications of intense downburst outflows. A novel design of a large-scale test facility and experimental evidence of its validity are presented. A two-dimensional slot jet is used to simulate only the outflow region of a downburst. Profiles of mean velocity and turbulence quantities are acquired using hot-wire anemometry. Comparison with the literature provides empirical evidence that supports the current approach. A geometric analysis considers the validity of applying a two-dimensional approximation for downburst wind loading of structures. This analysis is applicable to power transmission lines in particular. The slot jet concept can be implemented in a large boundary layer wind tunnel to enable large-scale laboratory experiments of thunderstorm wind loads on structures.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.437-462
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• 2007

A non-translating, long duration thunderstorm downburst has been simulated experimentally and numerically by modelling a spatially stationary steady flow impinging air jet. Velocity profiles were shown to compare well with an upper-bound of velocity measurements reported for full-scale microbursts. Velocity speed-up over a range of topographic features in simulated downburst flow was also tested with comparisons made to previous work in a similar flow, and also boundary layer wind tunnel experiments. It was found that the amplification measured above the crest of topographic features in simulated downburst flow was up to 35% less than that observed in boundary layer flow for all shapes tested. From the computational standpoint we conclude that the Shear Stress Transport (SST) model performs the best from amongst a range of eddy-viscosity and second moment closures tested for modelling the impinging jet flow.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.89-100
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• 2018

3D simulations based on an impinging jet were carried out to investigate the flow field of a steady downburst and its effects on a high-rise building by applying the SST k-${\omega}$ turbulence model. The vertical profile of radial wind speed obtained from the simulation was compared with experimental data and empirical models in order to validate the accuracy of the present numerical method. Then wind profiles and the influence of jet velocity and jet height were investigated. Focusing on a high-rise building, the flow structures around the building, pressure distributions on the building surfaces and aerodynamic forces were analyzed in order to enhance the understanding of wind load characteristics on a high-rise building immersed in a downburst.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.147-161
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• 2018

For wind engineering applications downbursts are, presently, almost exclusively modeled, both experimentally and numerically, as transient impinging momentum jets (IJ), even though that model contains none of the physics of real events. As a result, there is no connection between the IJ-simulated downburst wind fields and the conditions of formation of the event. The cooling source (CS) model offers a significant improvement since it incorporates the negative buoyancy forcing and baroclinic vorticity generation that occurs in nature. The present work aims at using large-scale numerical simulation of downburst-producing thunderstorms to develop a simpler model that replicates some of the key physics whilst maintaining the relative simplicity of the IJ model. Using an example of such a simulated event it is found that the non-linear scaling of the velocity field, based on the peak potential temperature (and, hence, density) perturbation forcing immediately beneath the storm cloud, produces results for the radial location of the peak radial outflow wind speeds near the ground, the magnitude of that peak and the time at which the peak occurs that match well (typically within 5%) of those produced from a simple axi-symmetric constant-density dense source simulation. The evolution of the downdraft column within the simulated thunderstorm is significantly more complex than in any axi-symmetric model, with a sequence of downdraft winds that strengthen then weaken within a much longer period (>17 minutes) of consistently downwards winds over almost all heights up to at least 2,500 m.