Experiments on natural snow distribution around simplified building models based on open air snow-wind combined experimental facility. Issue 173 (February 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Liu, Mengmeng; Zhang, Qingwen; Fan, Feng; Shen, Shizhao
• Is Part Of: Journal of wind engineering and industrial aerodynamics. Issue 173(2018)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 13
• Publication Date: 2018-02
• Subjects: nowdrift -- Natural snow -- New experimental facility -- Wind speed and incidence angle -- Snow particles; Wind-pressure -- Periodicals; Buildings -- Aerodynamics -- Periodicals; Pression du vent -- Périodiques; Constructions -- Aérodynamique -- Périodiques; Buildings -- Aerodynamics; Wind-pressure; Periodicals
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jweia.2017.12.010
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0167-6105

Abstract

Abstract: In previous studies, snowdrifts around different buildings have been investigated in wind or water tunnels, or in the outdoor environment, to ensure proper accessibility and the safety of structures. The pattern of snowdrifts is strongly connected to the speed and incidence angle of the wind. Two sets of experiments have been undertaken to investigate the influence of wind on snowdrift accumulation around a model and another set of experiments have been undertaken to explore the influence on two separated models. The building model is a wooden cube with dimensions of 0.5 × 0.5 × 0.5 m. The experiments are carried out in an open air snow-wind combined experimental facility, which is situated outdoors, like an open air wind tunnel with a snowfall simulator. The facility can produce a stable wind field and snowfall environment for a specific duration. During the experiments, environmental conditions, like temperature and humidity were measured on a PC-4 automatic weather station. The snow used in the experiments came from the natural snowfall on 01/19/2016-01/22/2016. After each experiment, the snowdrift geometry was measured by surveying approximately 300 points around the model. The results reveal that the patterns of snow distribution show a close relationship with the surrounding wind field of buildings. Highlights: The open air snow-wind combined experimental facility is adopted to investigating snow distribution around buildings. Natural snow was used in the experiments to reduce the influence caused by particle properties on results. The influence of wind speed and direction are all clear in this paper, and the snow environment around adjacent buildings is also presented.