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Experimental study on the pressure distribution of a low aspect-ratio circular cylinder and interference effects of a square cylinder in downburst flows

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Abstract

Wind loads on a surface-mounted finite-height circular cylinder are strongly influenced by the flow field structure. Based on the stationary and moving downburst flows simulated by an impinging jet device, this paper studies the wind pressure distribution in a circular cylinder with a low aspect ratio of AR = 2 at different radial positions and discusses the interference effects of other cylinders. The results indicate that the Reynolds number has a significant effect on the mean wind pressure coefficient on the crosswind side. The maximum absolute value of the mean coefficients on the leeward and crosswind sides appears at r/Djet = 1.0. In general, the interference effect of the square cylinder closely spaced on the fluctuating coefficients of each side is the largest when it is in the upstream position in tandem. The pressure distribution on the crosswind side is more easily affected by the interference cylinder. Under the action of a moving downburst, the instantaneous pressure coefficients on all sides of the cylinder have both positive and negative peaks, and the maximum overshooting variation is close to three. The overshooting effect lasts in a shorter time and has a greater impact on the structure when the downburst moving speed is faster.

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Abbreviations

ABL:

Atmospheric boundary layer

AR:

Aspect ratio of cylinder

Cp mean :

Mean pressure coefficient

Cp peak :

Peak pressure coefficient

Cp rms :

RMS pressure coefficient

C x :

Mean drag force coefficient

C y :

Mean lift force coefficient

D :

Cylinder diameter

D jet :

Jet nozzle diameter

H :

Cylinder height

r :

Radial horizontal distance from the centerline of the nozzle

V jet :

Jet velocity

V tr :

Moving speed of nozzle

z :

The elevation from the testing plate surface

Z max :

The elevation at which the maximum horizontal velocity occurred

δ :

Boundary layer thickness

ρ :

Air density

μ :

Air viscosity coefficient

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Acknowledgement

The research presented in this paper was fully supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51778097 and 52078437) and the Chongqing Science & Technology Commission (cstc2018jscx-msybX0284). We thank LetPub (www.letpub.com) for its linguistic assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. China Aerodynamics Research and Development Center, Mianyang, 621000, China

    Han-jie Huang, Ting-rui Yue & Jian-feng Yan

  2. School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing University of Science and Technology, Chongqing, 401331, China

    Zhi-tao Yan

  3. Key Laboratory of New Technology for Construction of Cities in Mountain Area (Ministry of Education), School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China

    Yu-jie Zeng & Heng-ren Fu

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  1. Han-jie Huang
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Correspondence to Zhi-tao Yan.

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Technical Editor: Erick Franklin.

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Huang, Hj., Yan, Zt., Zeng, Yj. et al. Experimental study on the pressure distribution of a low aspect-ratio circular cylinder and interference effects of a square cylinder in downburst flows. J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng. 43, 294 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-021-02943-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-021-02943-4

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