Numerical modelling of shelter effect of porous wind fences

The wind blowing at high velocity in an open storage yard leads to wind erosion and loss of material. Fence structures can be constructed around the periphery of the storage yard to reduce the erosion. The fence will cause turbulence and recirculation behind it which can be utilized to reduce the wind erosion and loss of material. A properly designed fence system will produce lesser turbulence and longer shelter effect. This paper aims to show the applicability of Support Vector Machine (SVM) to predict the recirculation length. A SVM model was built, trained and tested using the experimental data gathered from the literature. The newly developed model is compared with numerical turbulence model, in particular, modified k-e model along with the experimental results. From the results, it was observed that the SVM model has a better capability in predicting the recirculation length. The SVM model was able to predict the recirculation length at a lesser time as compared to modified k-e model. All the results are analyzed in terms of statistical measures, such as root mean square error, correlation coefficient, and scatter index. These examinations demonstrate that SVM has a strong potential as a feasible tool for predicting recirculation length.