Experimental study of tornado-like loading on rectangular prisms

To study the interaction between bluff bodies and tornado-like flow, two rectangular prisms of different depth to height ratios were tested in a two-celled tornado-like vortex generated by a Ward-type tornado simulator. The measurements are interpreted to reveal the characteristics of the mean and dynamic components of the tornado-like loading in the context of the velocity and static pressure fields of the tornado-like flow as well as the dependences of these characteristics on the radial location and the clearance of the prisms in the simulated vortex. The effects of the difference in the depth to height ratios of the prisms on the tornado-like loading are also evaluated. In addition to the fundamental understanding of tornado-like loading on bluff bodies, the study produces an experimental dataset that can serve as benchmarks for the validation and calibration of numerical methods used for the study of tornado-like loading on structures. (C) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The interaction between bluff bodies and tornado-like flow was studied, and the characteristics of tornado-like loading were revealed through experimental measurements and data interpretation. The study also provides a benchmark dataset for the validation and calibration of numerical methods.