Research on Wind Load Characteristics on the Surface of a Towering Precast Television Tower with a Grid Structure Based on Large Eddy Simulation

Abstract

Local wind pressures on tiny rods of complex grid structures are difficult to obtain through wind tunnel tests due to their small sizes after scaling down, resulting in a lack of data support in wind load calculations for similar structures. However, local wind pressures on tiny rods can be obtained through numerical wind tunnel simulation using full-sized models. In order to investigate the wind pressure distribution of a grid structure and the influence of grid structures on the wind load of core tubes, three different television tower models are established based on an engineering example for large eddy simulations. A turbulence inlet generator (NSRFG) is adopted in the simulations while reproducing a portion of the wind tunnel test section including the mean and fluctuating pressures for validation. The results indicate that the mean wind pressures on the intersection of rods in the windward zone of the grid structure are higher than those on adjacent rods. Distinct reductions in the mean and fluctuating wind pressure of the grid structure are found in different zones. Moreover, resultant wind load forces and bending moments in the X and Y direction of the grid structure generally exceed 70% of the total wind loads. Based on simulation results, extreme net wind pressures of the grid structure and shape coefficients of enclosed regular octagonal cross-section buildings with the grid structure are provided for reference.