The unsteady flow field disturbance between the blades and tower is one of the primary factors affecting the aerodynamic performance of wind turbine. Based on the research object of a 3MW horizontal axis wind turbine which was developed independently by Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, numerical simulation on the aerodynamic performance of wind turbine system in halt state with blades in different position was conducted using large eddy simulation (LES) method. Based on the 3D unsteady numerical simulation results in a total of eight conditions (determined by the relative position with the tower during the complete rotation process of the blade), the characteristics of wind pressure distributions of the wind turbine system and action mechanism of surrounding flow field were analysed. The effect of different position of blades on the aerodynamic performance of wind turbine in halt state as well as the disturbance effect was evaluated. Results of the study showed that the halt position of blades had significant effect on the wind pressure distribution of the wind turbine system as well as the characteristics of flow around. Relevant conclusions from this study provided reference for the wind-resistant design of large scale wind turbine system in different halt states.

By using numerical simulation, vast and detailed information and observation of the physics of flow over a train model can be obtained. However, the accuracy of the numerical results is questionable as it is affected by grid convergence error. This paper describes a systematic method of computational grid refinement for the Unsteady Reynolds Navier-Stokes (URANS) of flow around a generic model of trains using the OpenFOAM software. The sensitivity of the computed flow field on different mesh resolutions is investigated in this paper. This involves solutions on three different grid refinements, namely fine, medium, and coarse grids to investigate the effect of grid dependency. The level of grid independence is evaluated using a form of Richardson extrapolation and Grid Convergence Index (GCI). This is done by comparing the GCI results of various parameters between different levels of mesh resolutions. In this study, monotonic convergence criteria were achieved, indicating that the grid convergence error was progressively reduced. The fine grid resolution's GCI value was less than 1%. The results from a simulation of the finest grid resolution, which includes pressure coefficient, drag coefficient and flow visualization, are presented and compared to previous available data.

An efficient and accurate algorithm is proposed to estimate flutter safety factor of suspension bridges satisfying prescribed reliability levels. Uncertainties which arise from the basic wind speed at the bridge deck location, critical flutter velocity, the wind conversion factor from a scaled model to the prototype structure and the gust speed factor are incorporated. The proposed algorithm integrates the concepts of the inverse reliability method and the calculation method of the critical flutter velocity of suspension bridges. The unique feature of the proposed method is that it offers a tool for flutter safety assessment of suspension bridges, when the reliability level is specified as a target to be satisfied by the designer. Accuracy and efficiency of this method with reference to three example suspension bridges is studied and numerical results validate its superiority over conventional deterministic method. Finally, the effects of various parameters on the flutter safety factor of suspension bridges are also investigated.

This paper addresses vibration and instability of embedded functionally graded (FG)-carbon nanotubes (CNTs)-reinforced pipes conveying viscous fluid. The surrounding elastic medium is modeled by temperature-dependent orthotropic Pasternak medium. Flugge shell model is applied for mathematical modeling of structure. Based on energy method and Hamilton's principal, the motion equations are derived. Differential quadrature method (GDQM) is applied for obtaining the frequency and critical fluid velocity of system. The effects of different parameters such as volume percent of CNTs, elastic medium, boundary condition and geometrical parameters are discussed.

In the present study, a new assessment simulation of ride safety based on a new wind-traffic-pavement-bridge coupled vibration system is developed considering stochastic characteristics of traffic flow and bridge surface. Compared to existing simulation models, the new assessment simulation focuses on introducing the more realistic three-dimensional vehicle model, stochastic characteristics of traffic, vehicle accident criteria, and bridge surface conditions. A three-dimensional vehicle model with 24 degrees-of-freedoms (DOFs) is presented. A cellular automaton (CA) model and the surface roughness are introduced. The bridge deck pavement is modeled as a boundless Euler-Bernoulli beam supported on the Kelvin model. The wind-traffic-pavement-bridge coupled equations are established by combining the equations of both the vehicles in traffic, pavement, and bridge using the displacement and interaction force relationship at the patch contact. The numerical simulation shows that the proposed method can simulate rationally useful assessment and prevention information for traffic, and define appropriate safe driving speed limits for vulnerable vehicles under normal traffic and bridge surface conditions.