Accurate CFD Modeling of Atmospheric Boundary Layer with an Emphasis on Wind-Induced Response of Buildings

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Design codes have several limitations when it comes to wind load evaluation of buildings, which can be overcome by using Wind Tunnel WT testing or Computational Fluid Dynamic CFD simulations. Wind Tunnel testing typically requires a long lead time (several weeks/months) for the model construction and instrumentation, which is not the case for CFD if the parallel computational power is utilized. It is essential for an accurate CFD simulations to properly model the atmospheric Boundary Layer (BL). This proposal focuses on assessing and enhancing the accuracy of two of BL-generating methods in CFD (namely the fractal surface roughness method and the Consistent Random Discrete Flow Generation CDRFG method) to evaluate wind-induced loads and responses of tall buildings. First the two selected BL-generating methods will be incorporated on ANSYS FLUENT and Open Foam software available at Ryerson U and commonly used by RWDI. Then, several simulations will be conducted to find the parameters (and their ranges) leading to accurate simulation of BLs using empty domains. Once those parameters (and their ranges) are identified, the simulations will be extended to include buildings with and without surrounding configurations to evaluate wind-induced loads and responses, which will be validated against WT experiments at Ryerson and RWDI. The anticipated outcomes of this research project represent two accurate modeling methods for turbulent BLs using CFD. Those methods will enable RWDI to conduct wind engineering studies faster, at a lower cost while maintaining the accuracy. This will be of a great benefit to not only to RWDI, but also to Canada as the resulting methods will ultimately lead to more resilient buildings to wind-related disasters frequently driven by the climate change, which is a priority research area for the Canadian Government.