Development of a downburst simulator and its application to wind resistant design of buildings

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15H04071
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Building structures/Materials
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: Uematsu Yasushi 東北大学, 工学研究科, 教授 (60151833)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 奥田 泰雄 国立研究開発法人建築研究所, その他部局等, 研究員 (70201994)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): MOCHIDA Akashi 東北大学, 大学院工学研究科, 教授 (00183658) ; IWASAKI Toshiki 東北大学, 大学院理学研究科, 教授 (80302074) ; GAVANSKI Eri 大阪市立大学, 大学院工学研究科, 准教授 (00608797)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: ダウンバースト / シミュレーター / 風荷重 / 非定常 / 実験 / 数値流体計算

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Downburst wind field and downburst-induced wind loads on a flat-roofed low-rise building have been investigated experimentally by using a downburst simulator that we developed. The downburst simulator consists of a blower of 0.6 m diameter that can move horizontally at a constant speed up to 2 m/s and a shutter-type opening installed above the outlet of the blower. The simulator can generate a pulsed jet and a moving draft either separately or simultaneously. Using this simulator, the flow structure in the downburst were first measured under various conditions. Then, non-stationary wind pressures and wind forces acting on the building were measured. The results indicate that they are significantly different from those of turbulent boundary layers.
A CFD model that can reproduce the wind field of downburst has been developed. Using this CFD model, we can investigate the downburst-induced flow fields and pressures on buildings in detail.

Free Research Field

建築構造学