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Comparison of Speed-Up Over Hills Derived from Wind-Tunnel Experiments, Wind-Loading Standards, and Numerical Modelling

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Abstract

We evaluate the accuracy of the speed-up provided in several wind-loading standards by comparison with wind-tunnel measurements and numerical predictions, which are carried out at a nominal scale of 1:500 and full-scale, respectively. Airflow over two- and three-dimensional bell-shaped hills is numerically modelled using the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes method with a pressure-driven atmospheric boundary layer and three different turbulence models. Investigated in detail are the effects of grid size on the speed-up and flow separation, as well as the resulting uncertainties in the numerical simulations. Good agreement is obtained between the numerical prediction of speed-up, as well as the wake region size and location, with that according to large-eddy simulations and the wind-tunnel results. The numerical results demonstrate the ability to predict the airflow over a hill with good accuracy with considerably less computational time than for large-eddy simulation. Numerical simulations for a three-dimensional hill show that the speed-up and the wake region decrease significantly when compared with the flow over two-dimensional hills due to the secondary flow around three-dimensional hills. Different hill slopes and shapes are simulated numerically to investigate the effect of hill profile on the speed-up. In comparison with more peaked hill crests, flat-topped hills have a lower speed-up at the crest up to heights of about half the hill height, for which none of the standards gives entirely satisfactory values of speed-up. Overall, the latest versions of the National Building Code of Canada and the Australian and New Zealand Standard give the best predictions of wind speed over isolated hills.

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Notes

  1. Therefore, for future work, before applying the proposed profiles in Fluent, it is essential to understand the differences in wall treatment between the Fluent and CFX packages, and to modify the profiles in such a way that they produce a homogeneous ABL in the Fluent software.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Auckland, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand

    Amir A. Safaei Pirooz & Richard G. J. Flay

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  1. Amir A. Safaei Pirooz
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  2. Richard G. J. Flay
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Correspondence to Amir A. Safaei Pirooz.

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Safaei Pirooz, A.A., Flay, R.G.J. Comparison of Speed-Up Over Hills Derived from Wind-Tunnel Experiments, Wind-Loading Standards, and Numerical Modelling. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 168, 213–246 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-018-0350-x

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