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A master's thesis from Aalborg University
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Wind Conditions Around High-rise Buildings: A Method for Evaluating Wind Conditions by Computational Fluid Dynamics

Translated title

Vindforhold omkring høje bygninger: En metode til evaluering af vindforhold med Computerstøttet Fluid Dynamik

Authors

; ;

Term

4. term

Publication year

2010

Submitted on

Pages

152

Abstract

Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan man kan analysere vindforhold i fodgængerniveau ved hjælp af Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), kombineret med vindstatistik og klare vurderingskriterier, med målet at etablere en praktisk arbejdsgang for komfort- og sikkerhedsvurderinger. Del I fastlægger kriterier baseret på middelvindhastighed og turbulens samt hvor ofte disse grænser må overskrides. Del II beskriver den matematiske model til at beregne strømningsfeltet: behandling af vindstatistik, modellering af grænsebetingelser, valg af turbulensmodel og validering af CFD-resultater mod feltmålinger. Resultaterne viser, at SST k-ω-modellen af Menter (1994) med parametre foreslået af Yang m.fl. (2009) er bedst til at beskrive turbulens. En metode til at omregne vinddata fra meteorologiske stationer til den specifikke lokalitet anvendes (baseret på Verkaik m.fl., 2005, og Wieringa, 1986). Den samlede procedure demonstreres i Del III gennem to cases: Høje Brygge, Nørresundby, hvor beboere oplever kraftige vindforhold og der er udført målinger, samt Viborgvej/Bredskiftevej i Århus for en planlagt klynge af højhuse. I begge tilfælde vurderes komfort og fare, og der foreslås tiltag, der kan reducere vindhastigheden ved terræn. Undersøgelsen ser også på retningdiskretisering—hvordan vindretninger opdeles i simuleringerne—og giver overvejelser om et passende valg.

This thesis explores how to analyze pedestrian-level wind using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) combined with wind statistics and clear evaluation criteria, aiming to establish a practical workflow for comfort and safety assessments. Part I defines criteria based on mean wind speed and turbulence, including how often these thresholds may be exceeded. Part II describes the mathematical modeling used to compute the flow field: handling wind statistics, setting boundary conditions, choosing a turbulence model, and validating the CFD results against field measurements. The study shows that the SST k-ω model by Menter (1994), with parameters suggested by Yang et al. (2009), is best for modeling turbulence. A method is applied to transform wind data from meteorological stations to the specific site, following Verkaik et al. (2005) and Wieringa (1986). The full procedure is then applied in Part III to two case studies: Høje Brygge, Nørresundby, where residents experience severe winds and measurements were taken, and Viborgvej/Bredskiftevej in Århus for a proposed group of high-rise buildings. In both cases, comfort and danger are evaluated, and several measures are suggested to reduce wind speeds at ground level. The work also examines directional discretization—how finely wind directions are divided in the simulations—and offers guidance on choosing an adequate setup.

[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]