scholarly journals Investigating the impact of local wind conditions on Toronto's glass balcony guard failures

Author(s):  
Mathew MacKay Hudson

An investigative study was performed on the Shangri-La Hotel in Toronto in order to determine the impact of local wind conditions on the glass balcony guard failures seen in Toronto in the last five years. An accurate CFD simulation model was developed for external flow applications through a wind tunnel validation study. The simulation was used to analyze average wind conditions and extreme (gust) wind conditions at the balcony guard failure locations, as well as identify potential areas of concern on the Shangri-La Hotel. A strong correlation between failure location and common wind conditions was established, however it was concluded that wind loading was likely not the primary cause of failure.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathew MacKay Hudson

An investigative study was performed on the Shangri-La Hotel in Toronto in order to determine the impact of local wind conditions on the glass balcony guard failures seen in Toronto in the last five years. An accurate CFD simulation model was developed for external flow applications through a wind tunnel validation study. The simulation was used to analyze average wind conditions and extreme (gust) wind conditions at the balcony guard failure locations, as well as identify potential areas of concern on the Shangri-La Hotel. A strong correlation between failure location and common wind conditions was established, however it was concluded that wind loading was likely not the primary cause of failure.


2011 ◽  
Vol 66-68 ◽  
pp. 334-339
Author(s):  
Mei Yu ◽  
Hai Li Liao ◽  
Ming Shui Li ◽  
Cun Ming Ma ◽  
Nan Luo ◽  
...  

Long-span suspension bridges, due to their flexibility and lightness, are much prone to the wind loads, aerodynamics performance has become an important aspect of the design of long-span suspension bridges. In this study, the static wind load acting on the suspension bridge during erection has been investigated through wind tunnel test and numerical analysis. The wind tunnel test was performed using a 1:50 scale section model of the bridge, the static wind load acting on the section model was measured with varying attack angles. Numerical method used here was computational fluid dynamics simulation, a two-dimensional model is adopted in the first stage of the analysis, then the SIMPLE algorithm was employed to solve the governing equations. The analytical results were compared with the wind tunnel test data, it was shown from the study that the results of CFD simulation was good agreement with that of the wind tunnel test.


2013 ◽  
Vol 307 ◽  
pp. 186-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Guo ◽  
Xing Jun Hu ◽  
Yun Yun Zhu ◽  
Qiang Fu ◽  
Xin Yu Wang ◽  
...  

Aerodynamic drag reduction of commercial truck at high speed is one of the important ways to reduce its energy consumption. CFD simulation and wind tunnel tests are performed on a kind of commercial truck, to study the influence of the cab shape and different kinds of guide cowls on aerodynamic drag, and the impact mechanism was also analyzed. It shows that the cab shape will make great contributions to the aerodynamic drag while the truck travelling, and through improving the shape of cab, guiding the air flow passed, it can effectively reduce the aerodynamic drag and achieve energy saving.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Quamrul H. Mazumder ◽  
Siwen Zhao ◽  
Kawshik Ahmed

Solid particle erosion is a mechanical process that removes material by the impact of solid particles entrained in the flow. Erosion is a leading cause of failure of oil and gas pipelines and fittings in fluid handling industries. Different approaches have been used to control or minimize damage caused by erosion in particulated gas-solid or liquid-solid flows. S-bend geometry is widely used in different fluid handling equipment that may be susceptible to erosion damage. The results of a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation of diluted gas-solid and liquid-solid flows in an S-bend are presented in this paper. In addition to particle impact velocity, the bend radius may have significant influence on the magnitude and the location of erosion. CFD analysis was performed at three different air velocities (15.24 m/s–45.72 m/s) and three different water velocities (0.1 m/s–10 m/s) with entrained solid particles. The particle sizes used in the analysis range between 50 and 300 microns. Maximum erosion was observed in water with 10 m/s, 250-micron particle size, and a ratio of 3.5. The location of maximum erosion was observed in water with 10 m/s, 300-micron particle size, and a ratio of 3.5. Comparison of CFD results with available literature data showed reasonable and good agreement.


2014 ◽  
Vol 626 ◽  
pp. 109-114
Author(s):  
Wen Su Chen ◽  
Hong Hao ◽  
Hao Du

Hurricane, typhoon and cyclone take place more and more often around the world with changing climate. Such nature disasters cause tremendous economic loss and casualty. Various kinds of windborne debris such as compact-like, plate-like and rod-like objects driven by hurricane usually imposes localized impact loading on the structure envelopes such as cladding, wall or roof, etc. The dominant opening in the envelope might cause serious damage to the structures, even collapse. To withstand the impact of such extreme event, the requirements on panel capacity to resist windborne debris impact has been presented in the Australian Wind Loading Code (2011) [1]. Corrugated metal panels are widely used as building envelop. In a previous study, laboratory tests have been carried out to investigate the performance of corrugated metal panels subjected to a 4kg wooden projectile by considering various impact locations, impact velocities and boundary conditions. In this study, numerical models were developed to simulate the responses of the corrugated metal panels subjected to wooden debris impacts by using commercial software LS-DYNA. The predicted data from the numerical simulations were compared with the experimental results. The validated numerical model can be used to conduct intensive numerical simulation to study the failure probabilities of corrugated structural panels subjected to windborne debris impacts.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Janssen ◽  
Daniel Pohl ◽  
Peter Jeschke ◽  
Alexander Halcoussis ◽  
Rainer Hain ◽  
...  

Abstract This paper presents the impact of an axially tilted variable stator vane platform on penny cavity flow and passage flow, with the aid of both optical and pneumatic measurements in an annular cascade wind tunnel as well as steady CFD analyses. Variable stator vanes (VSVs) in axial compressors require a clearance from the endwalls. This means that penny cavities around the vane platform are inevitable. Production and assembly deviations can result in a vane platform which is tilted about the circumferential axis. Due to this deformation, backward facing steps occur on the platform edge. Penny cavity and main flow in geometries with and without platform tilting were compared in an annular cascade wind tunnel, which comprises a single row of 30 VSVs. Detailed particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements were conducted inside the penny cavity and in the vane passage. Steady pressure and velocity data was obtained by two-dimensional multi-hole pressure probe traverses in the inflow and the outflow. Furthermore, pneumatic measurements were carried out using pressure taps inside the penny cavity. Additionally, oil flow visualization was conducted on the airfoil, hub, and penny cavity surfaces. Steady CFD simulations with boundary conditions, according to the measurements, have been benchmarked against experimental data. The results show that tilting the VSV platform reduces the mass flow into and out of the penny cavity. By decreasing penny cavity leakage, platform tilting also affects the passage flow where it leads to a reduced turbulence level and total pressure loss in the leakage flow region. In summary, the paper demonstrates the influence of penny platform tilting on cavity flow and passage flow and provides new insights into the mechanisms of penny cavity-associated losses.


Author(s):  
Mandana S. Saravani ◽  
Saman Beyhaghi ◽  
Ryoichi S. Amano

The present work investigates the effects of buoyancy and density ratio on the thermal performance of a rotating two-pass square channel. The U-bend configuration with smooth walls is selected for this study. The channel has a square cross-section with a hydraulic diameter of 5.08 cm (2 inches). The lengths of the first and second passes are 514 mm and 460 mm, respectively. The turbulent flow enters the channel with Reynolds numbers of up to 34,000. The rotational speed varies from 0 to 600 rpm with the rotational numbers up to 0.75. For this study, two approaches are considered for tracking the buoyancy effect on heat transfer. In the first case, the density ratio is set constant, and the rotational speed is varied. In the second case, the density ratio is changed in the stationary case, and the effect of density ratio is discussed. The range of Buoyancy number along the channel is 0–6. The objective is to investigate the impact of Buoyancy forces on a broader range of rotation number (0–0.75) and Buoyancy number scales (0–6), and their combined effects on heat transfer coefficient for a channel with aspect ratio of 1:1. Several computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation are carried out for this study, and some of the results are validated against experimental data.


Author(s):  
D G Thomson ◽  
F Coton ◽  
R Galbraith

The aim of this article is to investigate the use of inverse simulation to help identify those regions of a ship's flight deck which provide the safest locations for landing a rotorcraft in various atmospheric conditions. This requires appropriate information on the wind loading conditions around a ship deck and superstructure, and for the current work, these data were obtained from wind tunnel tests of a ship model representative of a typical helicopter carrier/assault ship. A series of wind tunnel tests were carried out on the model in the University of Glasgow's 2.65 × 2.04 m wind tunnel and three-axis measurements of wind speed were made at various locations on the ship deck. Measurements were made at four locations on the flight deck at three different heights. The choice of these locations was made on the basis of preliminary flow visualization tests which highlighted the areas where the most severe wind effects were most likely to occur. In addition, for the case where the wind was from 30° to starboard, measurements were made at three further locations to assess the extent of the wake of the superstructure. The generated wind profiles can then be imposed on the inverse simulation, allowing study of the vehicle and pilot response during a typical landing manoeuvre in these conditions. The power of the inverse simulation for this application is demonstrated by a series of simulations performed using configurational data representing two aircraft types, a Westland Lynx and a transport helicopter flying an approach and landing manoeuvre with the worst atmospheric conditions applied. It is shown from the results that attempting to land in the area aft of the superstructure in a 30° crosswind might lead to problems for the transport configuration due to upgusts in this area. Attempting to perform the landing manoeuvre in an aggressive manner is also shown to lead to diminished control margin in higher winds.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document