Study of Interference Effects on Chimneys

Abstract

Fluid flow studies play a vital role in proper assessing of wind loads on buildings and other civil engineering structures with various shapes. The presence of adjacent structure may alter wind loads on the structure of interest, by altering the fluid dynamics surrounding the structure. This effect is termed as interference effect and it depends on various factors such as terrain category, wind angle, geometry & orientation of the structure, the spacing between the structures, etc. Thus, proper assessment of interference effect with the above factors can lead to the efficient design of structures that can withstand the load variations due to the presence of interfering structures. The existing literature on wind interference effects focuses more on experimental analysis of the problem, which is both expensive and time-consuming. In this regard, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach can serve as a quicker and efficient tool. In an attempt to study the effect of geometry &orientation of structures on interference phenomenon, turbulent flows around the buildings, cooling towers, and chimneys have been simulated through CFD approach by performing Large Eddy Simulation (LES). In the present study, interference factors of a typical chimney structure have been evaluated by considering the presence of an identical chimney at varying distances, under different wind angles.