Numerical Simulation Of Wind Loads For Membrane Structures

Numerical simulation technology, which is based on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), along with wind tunnel test, theoretical analysis and field measurement constitute the powerful tools in the field of wind engineering research. With the development of computational technology, Computational Wind Engineering (CWE) draws more and more attention and plays a more and more important role in the wind engineering community by its unique merits and promising prospect in the past two decades. At the same time, there are many difficulties in the process of computing the high turbulent flow field around the bluff bodies being immersed in the lower atmosphere boundary layer (ABL in short).Owing to their lightweight and graceful shaping, membrane structures win more and more architects' favor. Membrane structures, which are light and flexible, are sensitive to wind-induced dynamic excitation, thus wind load frequently acts as controlling external load in the structural design of membrane structures. Membrane structures offer an unlimited variety of forms and the building forms described in the relevant codes will not usually match the form-found shapes of the membrane structures. Under such cases, we usually derive the pressure coefficient (C_p) by wind tunnel test whether at home and abroad. But we can't perform regularity study of wind pressure distribution of the membrane structures because of the limited existing wind tunnel test results. Based upon CFD software-FLUENT, this thesis focuses on the numerical simulation technology for wind flow field around membrane structures. Limited by the current computer hardware resources, Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) method is adopted here.Firstly, 3-D steady flow field around the standard low-rise building model-TTU, which is immersed in ABL is numerically simulated. Full scale TTU model according to Texas Tech Wind Engineering Research Field Laboratory (WERFL) is established in the numerical simulation to investigate the flow field around. The field measurement data of WERFL is adopted as inflow boundary conditions in numerical model. The effects of some main factors on the precision of the simulated results are investigated individually through comparisons of the numerical results with field measurement data and wind tunnel test data. This intensive investigation indicates that the factors, including turbulence model, the...