Experiments were conducted in a large-scale Ward-type tornado simulator to study tornado-like vortices. Both flow velocities and the pressures at the surface beneath the vortices were measured. An interpretation of these measurements enabled an assessment of the mean flow field as well as the mean and fluctuating characteristics of the surface pressure deficit, which is a manifestation of the flow fluctuation aloft. An emphasis was placed on the effect of the aspect ratio of the tornado simulator on the characteristics of the simulated flow and the corresponding surface pressure deficit, especially the evolution of these characteristics due to the transition of the flow from a single-celled vortex to a two-celled vortex with increasing swirl ratio.
Key Words
tornado-like vortex; surface pressure deficit; aspect ratio; swirl ratio
Address
Zhuo Tang — National Wind Institute, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA
Delong Zuo — National Wind Institute, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA; Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA
Darryl James — Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA
Yuzuru Eguchi and Yasuo Hattori — Fluid Dynamics Sector, Civil Engineering Research Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, Abiko 1646, Abiko-shi, Chiba-ken, 270-1194 Japan
PDF Viewer
Preview is limited to the first 3 pages. Sign in to access the full PDF.
