Numerical simulation of downburst wind flow over real topography

Downburst winds cause significant threats for many structural systems. Most failure reports of transmission line systems point to downburst events rather than other types of wind events. These events produce the highest wind speeds at low elevations and the shape of terrain topology is one of the ma...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of wind engineering and industrial aerodynamics Vol. 172; pp. 85 - 95
Main Authors Abd-Elaal, El-Sayed, Mills, Julie E., Ma, Xing
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier Ltd 01.01.2018
Subjects
Downburst
Numerical simulation
Real topography
Speedup factors
Wind speeds
Downburst
Numerical simulation
Speedup factors
Wind speeds
Real topography
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Summary:Downburst winds cause significant threats for many structural systems. Most failure reports of transmission line systems point to downburst events rather than other types of wind events. These events produce the highest wind speeds at low elevations and the shape of terrain topology is one of the main parameters that significantly changes the distribution of the surface wind speeds. The main objective of this study is to investigate the profiles of downburst wind speeds as they pass over real topography, and then to provide guidance for the design of transmission line systems in similar terrains. Numerical simulations of downburst wind flow over two samples of real topography were conducted and the consequent changes in horizontal and vertical downburst wind speeds were investigated. •A numerical model for simulating downburst events over a real topography has been developed for application.•Importance of including three-dimensional simulation of topology was demonstrated.•Vertical downburst wind speeds are intensified and produced an effective wind component on inclined surfaces at low heights.
ISSN:0167-6105
1872-8197
DOI:10.1016/j.jweia.2017.10.026