Estimation of amount of air-borne salt adhered to structural surface by multiscale airflow analysis

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 22K20453
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0303:Civil engineering, social systems engineering, safety engineering, disaster prevention engineering, and related fields
• Research Institution: Matsue National College of Technology
• Principal Investigator: TSUBOKURA Yuta 松江工業高等専門学校, 環境・建設工学科, 助教 (40964846)
• Project Period (FY): 2022-08-31 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 維持管理 / 海塩粒子 / CFD / WRF

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Since atmospheric salts accelerate corrosion by adhering to structures, appropriate evaluation of the amount of salts adhering to structures is required in maintenance and management. In this study, the author attempted to predict atmospheric salinity using the meteorological model WRF/Chem to develop a method for evaluating atmospheric salinity. As a result, it was found that the atmospheric salt content can be predicted with high accuracy by appropriately considering the conditions for the generation of sea salt particles. Additionally, to develop a method for estimating the amount of salt deposited on structures, a coupled analysis of airflow and particles around structures was conducted using numerical fluid dynamics (CFD) to clarify the distribution of salt deposition on particles in a rectangular cross-section and a cross-section simulating a bridge.

Free Research Field

構造工学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

鋼橋梁の維持管理においては，日本は島国であることから，特に海塩粒子の付着による鋼材の腐食が大きな懸念事項となる．したがって，橋梁各部位に付着する塩分量の評価が重要であるが，未だ手法の確立には至ってない．本研究では，領域気象モデルWRF/Chemおよび橋梁周囲のCFD解析により，一貫した解析のみによる付着量評価の可能性を示している．日本各地に存在する橋梁等の構造物は膨大であるから，現地観測ではなく，解析のみによる付着塩分量評価手法の確立は，維持管理の効率化の観点から，意義は大きいと言える．