Research of wind-snow drift uneven distribution on arched structure roofs

ObjectiveCurrently, several scholars focused on the snow distribution of stepped flat roofs and gable roof, etc., and fewer scholars have been conducted on the distribution of snow on arched structure roofs. In this paper, wind tunnel tests on snow distribution in arched structure roofs with different rise-span ratio were carried out by considering the effect of snowfall, and numerical simulations were used to study the snow distribution of arched structure roofs with different rise-span ratio and different numbers of spans. Analyse the results of experiments and numerical simulations to provide reference for the snow resistance of this type of curved buildings.MethodsFirstly, silicon sand has been verified many times as a substitute material to simulate snow particles in the room temperature wind tunnel tests. As a substitute for snow particles, it can well reproduce the phenomenon of snow redistribution in wind tunnel tests. Therefore, this paper uses silicon sand for the experiment; Secondly, the uneven distribution of snow was investigated by wind tunnel tests considering snowfall under different wind speeds for arched structure roof models with rise-span ratios of 1/5, 1/7, and 1/10. So as to understand the snow distribution pattern of arched structure buildings under different rise-span ratios and different wind field boundary conditions in wind and snow conditions; Finally, numerical simulation was used to analyze the snow distribution of arched structure roofs with different rise-span ratios and different span numbers.