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#formulawindy: wind engineering

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related projects
Ultimate & Resilient solar tracker generation.
Aeroelastic analysis of single axis Photovoltaic Solar Trackers.
Wind tunnel test of the fifth Tower (Madrid).
Influence of ground proximity to a tilt flat plate. I: static coeffs.
Alconétar Arches wind tunnel test.
Aerodynamic study of box & struts deck bridge.
Influence of scaffolding supports on the aerodynamics of a bridge formwork.
Aerodynamic study of the four towers of Madrid.
Aerodynamic study of a timber footbridge.
Wind tunnel test on a Movable Scaffolding (Cadavedo and Ribón Viaducts, A-8, Asturias, Spain.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Ultimate & Resilient solar tracker generation (2019-current).

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This ambitious project addresses the deep understanding of the phenomena involved in the aerodynamic stability of PV solar trackers. The approach of classical galloping (quasi static) and conclusions from the static flat plate problem are not enough theoretical background. Neither trying to apply the rules contained in the international standard codes (i.e. Eurocode).
Many powerful and advanced tools has been used by the research team, starting in May 2029:
  1. A complete campaign of full aeroelastic tests carried out into our Wind Tunnels located in our University
  2. Mechanical FEM (Finite Element Method) and CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) numerical simulation techniques (under academic licensing). Once the coupled phenomena has been set, FSI (Fluid Structure Interaction, two way coupling) analysis has been developed as well.
  3. Work started from a tight theoretical analysis of the equations of the movement of the structure and we made it non-dimensional
This way, our team is coming up with the solution of the terrifying problem of torsional galloping... and beyond! (by Eduardo Blanco Marigorta, Eva Martínez García, Jorge Parrondo Gayo and Antonio Navarro-Manso: #formulawindy, Hydraulic Engineering and Fluid Mechanics Areas, Energy Department, University of Oviedo). All methods (analytical, experimental and numerical) and all images, graphics, diagrams, figures, videos are protected by copyright, as they have been developed by researchers of the Department of Energy at University of Oviedo and protected by intellectual property rights. Whatever reproduction or copy or plagiarism of any part of the models and calculations herein described, including the formal design of the scale models of the solar trackers is forbidden and could be prosecuted.
Media content below describe some aspects of the work:
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CFD numerical simulation of four rows of solar tracker, taking into account the ground effect and the movement (torsion DOF) of the structure: transient interferences between trackers.
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Vorticity (1/s) contours in a static and transient CFD analysis of 1 solar tracker with ground effect.
Full aerolastic test of a solar tracker.
Velocity (m/s) contours around a solar tracker with ground effect, static transient CFD analysis.
Vorticity (1/s) contours around 4 rows of solar trackers with ground effect, static transient CFD analysis.
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Structural FEM analysis (elastic and non-linear contacts) of a real solar tracker: deformation of the structure subjected to gravity plus a moment at the free end.
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CFD analysis of the fluid structure interaction coupled problem of torsional galloping of a solar tracker (simplified model).
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Aeroelastic analysis of single axis Photovoltaic Solar Trackers.

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A new method for testing full aeroelastic scale models (in Wind Tunnel) of photovoltaic solar trackers and calculating the stability diagrams of such extreme slender structures, including the shelter effect induced by the first row, depending on aspect ratio, has been developed. Two scientific contributions are under review and will be published soon.
Slide presentation above shows the full aeroelastic test in Wind Tunnel of a single axis solar tracker: the conclusion was the correct sizing of the torque tube for avoiding torsional galloping of a real kind of solar tracker and depicting the stability diagram (by Eduardo Blanco Marigorta, Eva Martínez García, Jorge Parrondo Gayo and Antonio Navarro-Manso: #formulawindy, Hydraulic Engineering and Fluid Mechanics Areas, Energy Department, University of Oviedo).
​Videos below show the shelter effect of the first row, and demonstrate that is not secure to assume the protection of the second and next rows by the first one.
2D CFD simulation of a single axis solar tracker: analysis of the aeroelastic mechanisms of galloping, by Eduardo Blanco Marigorta, Eva Martínez García, Jorge Parrondo Gayo and Antonio Navarro-Manso: #formulawindy, Hydraulic Engineering and Fluid Mechanics Areas, Energy Department, University of Oviedo.
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Wind tunnel test of the fifth Tower (Madrid).

The study of site-wind interferences on buildings is an amazing subject. This work is currently carried out by Olaya Gómez Carril. We are comparing the experimental results with the Spanish code. Some CFD models will be also developed.
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Influence of ground proximity to a tilt flat plate. I: static coeffs.

In order to deep in the behaviour of solar trackers (or any other similar structure), we are testing a "rigid" flat plate and plotting drag, lift and moment coefficients vs. tilt angle, proximity to the ground and aspect ratio of the panel. This work is currently carried out by Beatriz Bayón García. We are also carrying out some CFD models.
An aeroelastic test has been carried out. The video shows the vibration of one of the specimens mounted with two end-plates.
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Alconétar Arches wind tunnel test.

This has become a classical issue in Wind Engineering. Our students will be able to distinguish between many aeroelastic phenomena as well as they learn the types of wind tunnel test: sectional 2D and complete 3D. This work is currently conducted by Anselmo Antuña Gómez. A 2D CFD model is being analyzing.
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Aerodynamic study of box & struts deck bridge.

This experiment explains the behaviour of a launched bridge and the influence of the struts and upper slab on the aerodynamic coefficients. This work is currently conducted by Javier Ruiz Berciano.
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Influence of scaffolding supports on the aerodynamics of a bridge formwork.

There is no structured and systematised information about aerodynamic coefficients on bridge scaffoldings and formworks. This work is currently conducted by Marcelo Álvarez Gallego and bridge the gap between the codes and reality.
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Aerodynamic study of the four towers of Madrid.

Another interesting project: study of site-wind interferences on buildings. Some time ago we have studied the case of the 4 towers of Madrid. We expect to apply all that knowledge to the construction of the fifth!!! The work has been developed by Ignacio Rodríguez Sánchez. This study is being complemented with a numerical simulation (CFD).
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Aerodynamic study of a timber footbridge.

In the present Bach. Thesis, the aerodynamic study of a wooden footbridge designed by Media Madera Ingenieros Consultores S.L. is carried out. The work has been developed by Efrén Gómez García. For this purpose, the static wind loads on the structure obtained by means of experimental tests in wind tunnels are compared with the results determined by applying the calculation rules of the "Instrucción sobre las acciones a considerar en el proyecto de puentes de carretera (IAP-11)", which is the regulation that governs the determination of bridge loads in Spain.​
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To perform the experimental tests, a reduced scale model manufactured by ATG is used. This model is identical to the footbridge under study and reproduces all the details and magnitudes at 1/20 scale of the real bridge that are relevant from the aerodynamic point of view.
Therefore, the main objectives that will be developed throughout the document are the following
- Calculation of the aerodynamic force on the model at a reduced scale, resulting from the composition of a horizontal or drag force and a vertical or lift force, and applied in a given line of action.
- Determination of the frequency of vortex shedding.
- Dimensioning of the phenomenon, through aerodynamic force coefficients.
- Calculation of the aerodynamic force on the catwalk prototype, both from the experimental results and from the application of the IAP-11 standard.
- Preliminary design of a numerical simulation for the calculation of the forces and aerodynamic coefficients.
- Comparison of the results of the three studies: experimental tests in wind tunnels, application of the current regulations and calculation by the finite volume method.
​Although it is not the main objective of the project, a preliminary 2D numerical simulation by finite volume method (Computational Fluid Dynamics, CFD) of the structure is also carried out, whose results will be compared with those obtained following the current regulations and the experimental tests in the wind tunnel.
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Wind tunnel test on a Movable Scaffolding (Cadavedo and Ribón Viaducts, A-8, Asturias, Spain.

The aim of this Bach. Thesis by Ignacio Romero Villanueva is to study the aerodynamic behaviour of a self-launching formwork (MSS) used for the construction of road bridges. Specifically, the behaviour of the main beam, that is, without the part of the machine that performs the formwork functions. ​It is a reality that the improvement of the mechanical properties of the materials traditionally used in the building industry, the adoption of new construction techniques as well as the incorporation of new materials, allows buildings to be more audacious every day, with shapes that are little or not at all similar to the basic shapes used in traditional architecture.
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For this reason there are more and more buildings in which wind loads (static and dynamic) play a very important role. Thus, wind, a factor hardly taken into account in traditional construction, has become a determining factor when evaluating design loads on quite a number of current buildings.
The need for this study arises because of the unique character of the structure, with shapes and characteristics far removed from those included in wind design standards and for which it is difficult to reliably estimate aerodynamic loads by analytical methods. For this reason, it is increasingly common to resort to scale model tests in wind tunnels.
The aerodynamic study is carried out by two methods: 
- Experimental tests in the EB40-oWT wind tunnel, belonging to the Department of Energy of the University of Oviedo, of a 1/36 scale model of the upper beam of the self-launching formwork and manufactured with a 3D printer in lactic polyacid (PLA).
- Analytical study of the action of the wind applying the current regulations (IAP-11).
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Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
#formulawindy gathers all our work related to (but not only) Wind Tunnel tests (Aeroelasticity & Aerodynamics, Hydraulic Machinery, Wind Engineering, Pollutant Dispersion, Aeroacustics, even Water Tunnel tests included) and it is formed exclusively by Professors and Researchers of the Energy Departement and GIFD (Spanish Official Research Group) of the University of Oviedo. Visit us: http://gifd.grupos.uniovi.es/inicio, or A. Navarro-Manso.
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