scholarly journals Effects of Sensor Response and Gust Duration on Maximum Wind Gust Measurements and Data Homogenisation

Author(s):  
Amir Ali Safaei Pirooz ◽  
Richard G.J. Flay ◽  
Lorenzo Minola ◽  
Cesar Azorin-Molina ◽  
Deliang Chen

<p>Wind speed data recorded using different signal-processing procedures can introduce errors in the wind speed measurements. This study aims to assess the effects of a set of various moving average filter durations and turbulence intensities on the recorded maximum gust wind speeds. For this purpose, a series of wind-tunnel experiments was carried out at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, on the widely-used Vaisala WAA151 cup anemometer. The variations of gust and peak factors, and turbulence intensities measured by the cup anemometer as a function of the averaging duration and turbulence intensity are presented. The wind-tunnel results are compared with values computed from a theoretical approach, namely random process and linear system theory, and the results were also validated against values reported in the literature where possible.</p><p>To summarise, the major findings of this experimental study are:</p><ol><li>The results show that increasing the effective gust duration reduces both the gust and peak factors, resulting in an underestimation of maximum gust wind speeds and an overestimation of minimum gust wind speeds.</li> <li>The maximum difference between gust factors obtained for high (e.g. 3-s to 5-s) and low (raw, unfiltered measurements) gust durations reached values of 25% – 30% for the high turbulence conditions, and up to 5% – 10% for low turbulence intensities.</li> <li>Gust factor ratios, an important parameter that allow the measurements from a specific gust duration to be converted to other gust durations of interest, are reported for various gust durations as a function of turbulence intensity.</li> <li>The differences and gust factor ratios computed in this study can be applied directly to full-scale measurements, and can be used in several research areas, including analysing and homogenisation of historical wind speed time series, comparing gust climatologies of countries where different gust durations have been adopted, and so on. These factors clearly play an essential role in meteorological, climatological and wind engineering studies.</li> </ol>

1996 ◽  
Vol 74 (12) ◽  
pp. 1956-1963 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. van Dorp ◽  
W. P. M. van den Hoek ◽  
C. Daleboudt

The dispersal capacity of six perennial grassland species with different seed aerodynamic attributes was assessed in a wind tunnel. The selected species have difficulty in recolonizing restored ecosystems because of a poor dispersal of seeds. The variation in dispersal distances of seeds within and between species was assessed by releasing seeds at varying wind speeds and release heights, and expressed as 1st percentile, mode, and 99th percentile values. Dispersal distances of long-range dispersed seeds (99th percentile values) increased exponentially with wind speed. At wind speeds of 14 m/s, predicted maximum distances are 10–15 m for small and relatively heavy spherical seeds and 20–30 m for large and relatively light cylindrical or disk-like seeds. In the study area, wind gusts > 10 m/s at plant height occur at least annually, and plants of the selected species live up to several decades. This suggests a great potential for long-range dispersal during the lifetime of a plant. Plants may gain wider dispersal of seeds by increasing the release height (e.g., taller infructescences) and by requiring stronger winds to release seeds (e.g., dispersal in autumn and winter). Keywords: dispersal, wind tunnel, seeds, perennial, wind gust.


Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 3007 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Lopez-Villalobos ◽  
O. Rodriguez-Hernandez ◽  
R. Campos-Amezcua ◽  
Guillermo Hernandez-Cruz ◽  
O. Jaramillo ◽  
...  

Wind speed turbulence intensity is a crucial parameter in designing the structure of wind turbines. The IEC61400 considers the Normal Turbulence Model (NTM) as a reference for fatigue load calculations for small and large wind turbines. La Ventosa is a relevant region for the development of the wind power sector in Mexico. However, in the literature, there are no studies on this important parameter in this zone. Therefore, we present an analysis of the turbulence intensity to improve the understanding of local winds and contribute to the development of reliable technical solutions. In this work, we experimentally estimate the turbulence intensity of the region and the wind shear exponent in terms of atmospheric stability to analyze the relation of these design parameters with the recommended standard for large and small wind turbines. The results showed that the atmosphere is strongly convective and stable in most of the eleven months studied. The turbulence intensity analysis showed that for a range of wind speeds between 2 and 24 m/s, some values of the variable measured were greater than those recommended by the standard, which corresponds to 388 hours of turbulence intensity being underestimated. This may lead to fatigue loads and cause structural damage to the technologies installed in the zone if they were not designed to operate in these wind speed conditions.


Author(s):  
Kazutoshi Matsuda ◽  
Kusuo Kato ◽  
Kouki Arise ◽  
Hajime Ishii

According to the results of conventional wind tunnel tests on rectangular cross sections with side ratios of B/D = 2–8 (B: along-wind length (m), D: cross-wind length (m)), motion-induced vortex excitation was confirmed. The generation of motion-induced vortex excitation is considered to be caused by the unification of separated vortices from the leading edge and secondary vortices at the trailing edge [1]. Spring-supported test for B/D = 1.18 was conducted in a closed circuit wind tunnel (cross section: 1.8 m high×0.9 m wide) at Kyushu Institute of Technology. Vibrations were confirmed in the neighborhoods of reduced wind speeds Vr = V/fD = 2 and Vr = 8 (V: wind speed (m/s), f: natural frequency (Hz)). Because the reduced wind speed in motion-induced vortex excitation is calculated as Vr = 1.67×B/D = 1.67×1.18 = 2.0 [1], vibrations around Vr = 2 were considered to be motion-induced vortex excitation. According to the smoke flow visualization result for B/D = 1.18 which was carried out by the authors, no secondary vortices at the trailing edge were formed, although separated vortices from the leading edge were formed at the time of oscillation at the onset wind speed of motion-induced vortex excitation, where aerodynamic vibrations considered to be motion-induced vortex excitation were confirmed. It was suggested that motion-induced vortex excitation might possibly occur in the range of low wind speeds, even in the case of side ratios where secondary vortices at trailing edge were not confirmed. In this study, smoke flow visualizations were performed for ratios of B/D = 0.5–2.0 in order to find out the relation between side ratios of rectangular cross sections and secondary vortices at trailing edge in motion-induced vortex excitation. The smoke flow visualizations around the model during oscillating condition were conducted in a small-sized wind tunnel at Kyushu Institute of Technology. Experimental Reynolds number was Re = VD/v = 1.6×103. For the forced-oscillating amplitude η, the non-dimensional double amplitudes were set as 2η/D = 0.02–0.15. Spring-supported tests were also carried out in order to obtain the response characteristics of the models.


2014 ◽  
Vol 564 ◽  
pp. 216-221
Author(s):  
Nasir S. Hassen ◽  
Nor Azwadi Che Sidik ◽  
Jamaluddin Md Sheriff

Spray losses are the most important problem that is faced in the spray application process as result of spray drift to non target areas by the action of air flow.This paper investigated the spray drift for banding applicationusing even flat-fan nozzle TPEunder wind tunnel conditions.In addition, this paper also examined the effect of different spray fan angles 65°, 80° and 95° on spray drift particularly where there is need to make the nozzle operate at the optimum heights above the ground or plant level.In addition, three cross wind speeds 1, 2 and 3m/swere produced to determine the effect of wind speed on total spray drift.According to the results from this study, the nozzle anglehas a significant effect on the total spray drift. The nozzle angle 65° gave the highest drift reduction compared to the other nozzle angles. The maximum driftfor all nozzles was found at nozzle height of 60 cm. The minimum mean value of the drift was found at wind speed of 1 m/s. This study supports the use of nozzle angles of less than 95° on heights more than 0.5m and on wind speeds more than 1m/s as a means for minimizing spray drift.


Processes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 299
Author(s):  
Jie Fang ◽  
Weiqiu Huang ◽  
Fengyu Huang ◽  
Lipei Fu ◽  
Gao Zhang

Based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and Realizable k-ε turbulence model, we established a numerical simulation method for wind and vapor-concentration fields of various external floating-roof tanks (EFRTs) (single, two, and four) and verified its feasibility using wind-tunnel experiments. Subsequently, we analysed superposition effects of wind speed and concentration fields for different types of EFRTs. The results show that high concentrations of vapor are found near the rim gap of the floating deck and above the floating deck surface. At different ambient wind speeds, interference between tanks is different. When the ambient wind speed is greater than 2 m/s, vapor concentration in leeward area of the rear tank is greater than that between two tanks, which makes it easy to reach explosion limit. It is suggested that more monitoring should be conducted near the bottom area of the rear tank and upper area on the left of the floating deck. Superposition in a downwind direction from the EFRTs becomes more obvious with an increase in the number of EFRTs; vapor superposition occurs behind two leeward tanks after leakage from four large EFRTs. Considering safety, environmental protection, and personnel health, appropriate measures should be taken at these positions for timely monitoring, and control.


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 1599-1611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Hu ◽  
Yongle Li ◽  
Yan Han ◽  
CS Cai ◽  
Guoji Xu

Characteristics of wind fields over the gorge or valley terrains are becoming more and more important to the structural wind engineering. However, the studies on this topic are very limited. To obtain the fundamental characteristics information about the wind fields over a typical gorge terrain, a V-shaped simplified gorge, which was abstracted from some real deep-cutting gorges where long-span bridges usually straddle, was introduced in the present wind tunnel studies. Then, the wind characteristics including the mean wind speed, turbulence intensity, integral length scale, and the wind power spectrum over the simplified gorge were studied in a simulated atmospheric boundary layer. Furthermore, the effects of the oncoming wind field type and oncoming wind direction on these wind characteristics were also investigated. The results show that compared with the oncoming wind, the wind speeds at the gorge center become larger, but the turbulence intensities and the longitudinal integral length scales become smaller. Generally, the wind fields over the gorge terrain can be approximately divided into two layers, that is, the gorge inner layer and the gorge outer layer. The different oncoming wind field types have remarkable effects on the mean wind speed ratios near the ground. When the angle between the oncoming wind and the axis of the gorge is in a certain small range, such as smaller than 10°, the wind fields are very close to those associated with the wind direction of 0°. However, when the angle is in a larger range, such as larger than 20°, the wind fields in the gorge will significantly change. The research conclusions can provide some references for civil engineering practices regarding the characteristics of wind fields over the real gorge terrains.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiaqi Liu ◽  
Reiji Kimura ◽  
Jing Wu

Gravels can protect soil from wind erosion, however, there is little known about the effects of fine-grained gravel on aerodynamic characteristics of the near-surface airflow. Drag coefficient, wind-speed gradient, and turbulent transfer coefficient over different coverages of gravel surfaces were investigated in a compact boundary-layer wind tunnel. The drag coefficient of the fine-grained gravel surface reached the maximum value at 15% coverage and then tended to stabilize at gravel coverage 20% and greater. At a height of 4 cm, near-surface airflow on gravel surfaces can be divided clearly into upper and lower sublayers, defined as the inertial and roughness sublayers, respectively. The coefficient of variation of wind speed over gravel surfaces in the roughness sublayer was 8.6 times that in the inertial sublayer, indicating a greater effect of gravel coverage on wind-speed fluctuations in the lower layer. At a height of 4 cm, wind-speed fluctuations under the observed wind speeds were independent of changes in gravel coverage. In addition, an energy-exchange region, where sand particles can absorb more energy from the surrounding airflow, was found between the roughness and inertial sublayers, enhancing the erosional state of wind-blown sand. This finding can be applied to evaluate the aerodynamic stability of the gravel surface in the Gobi Desert and provide a theoretical basis for elucidation of the vertical distributions of wind-blown sand flux.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0244213
Author(s):  
Xia Pan ◽  
Zhenyi Wang ◽  
Yong Gao ◽  
Zhengcai Zhang ◽  
Zhongjv Meng ◽  
...  

Wind erosion has gained increasing attention as one of the most serious global ecological and environmental threats. Windbreaks are effective at decreasing wind erosion by reducing wind speed to protect crops, livestock, and farmsteads, while providing wildlife habitats. Synthetic shrubs can act as novel windbreaks; however, there is limited knowledge on how their design affects wind speed. This study determined the protective effects (airflow field and sheltering efficiency) based on the design of synthetic shrubs in a wind tunnel. Broom-shaped synthetic shrubs weakened the wind speeds mainly at the middle and upper parts of the shrubs (5–14 cm), while for hemisphere-shaped shrubs this effect was greatest near their bases (below 4 cm) and least in the middle and upper parts (7–14 cm). Spindle-shaped synthetic shrubs provided the best reduction effect in wind range and strength. Moreover, the wind speed reduction ratio decreased with improved wind speeds and ranged from 26.25 cm (between the second and third rows) to 52.5 cm (after the third row). These results provide strong evidence that synthetic shrubs should be considered to decrease wind speed and prevent wind erosion.


2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Balaji Kaushik ◽  
Richard D. Hale ◽  
Ray Taghavi

Aerodynamic trade studies in support of an interdisciplinary research program for large ground based telescopes are addressed. Numerous CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) trade studies were carried out to help identify the initial critical configuration of the telescope. The highest pressures induced on the reflective surface of the telescope mirror in the critical configuration were used in structural analysis. A module that correlated disparate discretizations in structural and fluid analyses through common parent geometry was developed. This module mapped surface pressures from the CFD discretization to the structural discretization using a weighted average technique. Experimental validation of the CFD results was carried out in the University of Kansas subsonic wind tunnel. The results from the CFD analysis and the wind tunnel experiments were in close agreement, with the maximum variation of pressures being 1%–8%. The preliminary telescope configuration that induced the highest pressure on the reflective surface of the primary mirror was identified as one inclined at 60° from the vertical plane and facing the wind directly. An “open-air” CFD model was developed that simulated the observatory shut-off operating conditions of 15 m/s wind speed and a fail-safe operating condition of 50 m/s wind speed. Critical local total gage pressures were 165 Pa and 1400 Pa at 15 and 50 m/s wind speeds respectively.


Author(s):  
Tomoya Nishida ◽  
Takuji Waseda

This paper examines temporal variation of ocean wind gust factor and turbulence intensity in the Northwest Pacific. Observation data at coastal and open oceans near Japan are analyzed to investigate the relationship between gust factor and turbulence intensity, and the seasonal variation of probability distribution of gust factor. The contrast of the winter monsoon cold air and relatively warmer sea surface temperature is the trigger for growth of the marine boundary layer. Downdraft by developed convection enhances sea surface gustiness. The relative significance of sensible heat flux to momentum flux is considered to be the cause of higher gust factor in winter. In view of deploying offshore wind turbines around Japan, the result of this study may be more relevant on the Sea of Japan side because the winter monsoon influence there is stronger than that on the Pacific side.


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