Computational Study on Complex Wind Field Environments in Urban and Marine Low-Altitude Based on Multi-Wind-Turbine Coordination

With the rise of the low-altitude economy, there is growing demand for performance and safety evaluation of logistics drones and urban aircraft operating in complex turbulent environments. Conventional wind tunnels, however, face challenges in simulating the non-uniform wind fields characteristic of urban low-altitude conditions, such as building wake flows, street canyon winds, and tornadoes. To address this gap, this study proposes a novel simulation device for low-altitude complex wind fields, which utilizes multi-fan coordinated control technology integrated with jet fan arrays, pressure-stabilizing chambers, and swirl fan systems to dynamically replicate horizontal flows, vertical flows, and specialized wind patterns. Numerical simulations using Ansys Icepak validate the effectiveness of the design: the optimized horizontal flow field achieves a wind speed of 83 m/s with a turbulence intensity ranging from 5% to 20%; the gust mode attains rapid response within 3 s; and high-fidelity simulations are achieved for wind shear, tornadoes (with a maximum tangential wind speed of 50 m/s), and downbursts (with a central vertical jet velocity of 40 m/s). Furthermore, for typical urban wind environments such as alley winds and intersection flows, the study elucidates the characteristics of abrupt wind speed variations and vortex dynamics induced by building obstructions. This research provides a new perspective and a potential technical pathway for testing low-altitude aircraft, assessing urban wind environments, and supporting related studies, thereby contributing to the advancement of complex wind field simulation technologies.

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Publication Details

Journal
Applied Sciences
Published
2025-12-09
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/app152412981
Primary Topic
Aerodynamics and Fluid Dynamics Research
Type
article
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article

Computational Study on Complex Wind Field Environments in Urban and Marine Low-Altitude Based on Multi-Wind-Turbine Coordination

Kunxiang Liu, Hongxia Gao, Chen Zhao, H. J. Yang et al.
Applied Sciences
Aerodynamics and Fluid Dynamics Research
article

Computational Study on Complex Wind Field Environments in Urban and Marine Low-Altitude Based on Multi-Wind-Turbine Coordination

Kunxiang Liu, Hongxia Gao, Chen Zhao, H. J. Yang, Lei Zhu, Meng Liu, Siwei Zhang
article en

Abstract

With the rise of the low-altitude economy, there is growing demand for performance and safety evaluation of logistics drones and urban aircraft operating in complex turbulent environments. Conventional wind tunnels, however, face challenges in simulating the non-uniform wind fields characteristic of urban low-altitude conditions, such as building wake flows, street canyon winds, and tornadoes. To address this gap, this study proposes a novel simulation device for low-altitude complex wind fields, which utilizes multi-fan coordinated control technology integrated with jet fan arrays, pressure-stabilizing chambers, and swirl fan systems to dynamically replicate horizontal flows, vertical flows, and specialized wind patterns. Numerical simulations using Ansys Icepak validate the effectiveness of the design: the optimized horizontal flow field achieves a wind speed of 83 m/s with a turbulence intensity ranging from 5% to 20%; the gust mode attains rapid response within 3 s; and high-fidelity simulations are achieved for wind shear, tornadoes (with a maximum tangential wind speed of 50 m/s), and downbursts (with a central vertical jet velocity of 40 m/s). Furthermore, for typical urban wind environments such as alley winds and intersection flows, the study elucidates the characteristics of abrupt wind speed variations and vortex dynamics induced by building obstructions. This research provides a new perspective and a potential technical pathway for testing low-altitude aircraft, assessing urban wind environments, and supporting related studies, thereby contributing to the advancement of complex wind field simulation technologies.

Applied SciencesVol. 15(24)
Institute for Advanced Study (DE), Beihang University (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 49%
Aerodynamics and Fluid Dynamics Research
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