journal article·2025-12-09Open access

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

Hongxia Gao, Chen Zhao, Siwei Zhang, Kunxiang Liu, Lei Zhu, Jun Yang, Meng Liu

Applied Sciences· Volume 15· Issue 24

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.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Aerodynamics and Fluid Dynamics Research · Aerospace Engineering and Energy Systems · Air Traffic Management and Optimization

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

School of Aeronautic Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China

Shenzhen Institute for Advanced Study, UESTC, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Shenzhen 518055, China

References (42)

Show source-provided references
1. Linkages Between Tropical Cyclones and Extreme Precipitation over China and the Role of ENSO10.1007/s13753-020-00285-8 ↗
2. Typhoon-induced precipitation characterization over northern Japan: A case study for typhoons in 201610.1186/s40645-020-00347-x ↗
3. Airborne Wind Energy Systems: A review of the technologies10.1016/j.rser.2015.07.053 ↗
4. Weber, J., Marquis, M., Lemke, A., Cooperman, A., Draxl, C., Lopez, A., Roberts, O., and Shields, M. (2021). Proceedings of the 2021 Airborne Wind Energy Workshop, National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL).10.2172/1810067 ↗
5. Pedestrian-level wind conditions around buildings: Review of wind-tunnel and CFD techniques and their accuracy for wind comfort assessment10.1016/j.buildenv.2016.02.004 ↗
6. Stull, R.B. (1988). An Introduction to Boundary Layer Meteorology, Springer.10.1007/978-94-009-3027-8 ↗
7. Observations of urban boundary layer structure during a strong urban heat island event10.1007/s10652-014-9335-6 ↗
8. Stamate, M.A., Pupaza, C., Nicolescu, F.A., and Moldoveanu, C.E. (2023). Improvement of Hexacopter UAVs Attitude Parameters Employing Control and Decision Support Systems. Sensors, 23.10.3390/s23031446 ↗
9. Wing, D.J., Chancey, E.T., Politowicz, M.S., and Ballin, M.G. (2020, January 15–19). Achieving resilient in-flight performance for advanced air mobility through simplified vehicle operations. Proceedings of the AIAA Aviation 2020 Forum, Reno, NV, USA.10.2514/6.2020-2915 ↗
10. Basawanal, A. (2024). Development and Qualification of a Drone-Based Anemometry Platform for Air Risk Assessment in Urban Environments. [Ph.D. Thesis, Carleton University].
11. Atmospheric flow simulation strategies to assess turbulent wind conditions for safe drone operations in urban environments10.1016/j.jweia.2022.105136 ↗
12. Raza, S.A. (2015). Autonomous UAV Control for Low-Altitude Flight in an Urban Gust Environment. [Ph.D. Thesis, Carleton University].
13. Cobano, J.A., Alejo, D., Sukkarieh, S., Heredia, G., and Ollero, A. (2013, January 3–7). Thermal detection and generation of collision-free trajectories for cooperative soaring UAVs. Proceedings of the 2013 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Tokyo, Japan.10.1109/IROS.2013.6696774 ↗
14. Energy-Based Long-Range Path Planning for Soaring-Capable Unmanned Aerial Vehicles10.2514/1.52738 ↗
15. ESWIRP: European Strategic Wind tunnels Improved Research Potential program overview10.1007/s13272-018-0305-4 ↗
16. Holthusen, H., Bergmann, A., and Sijtsma, P. (2012, January 4–6). Investigations and measures to improve the acoustic characteristics of the German-Dutch Wind Tunnel DNW-LLF. Proceedings of the 18th AIAA/CEAS Aeroacoustics Conference (33rd AIAA Aeroacoustics Conference), Springs, CO, USA.10.2514/6.2012-2176 ↗
17. Carlino, G., Cardano, D., and Cogotti, A. (2007). A New Technique to Measure the Aerodynamic Response of Passenger Cars by a Continuous Flow Yawing, SAE International. SAE Technical Paper 0148-7191.10.4271/2007-01-0902 ↗
18. Shams, T.A., Shah, S.I.A., and Ahmad, M.A. (2020, January 14–18). Capability analysis of global hypersonic wind tunnel facilities for aerothermodynamic investigations. Proceedings of the 2020 17th International Bhurban Conference on Applied Sciences and Technology (IBCAST), Islamabad, Pakistan.10.1109/IBCAST47879.2020.9044523 ↗
19. Lee, T., and Lin, G. (2022). Review of experimental investigations of wings in ground effect at low Reynolds numbers. Front. Aerosp. Eng., 1.10.3389/fpace.2022.975158 ↗
20. Applications of UAVs in Civil Infrastructure10.1061/(ASCE)IS.1943-555X.0000464 ↗
21. Applications and Research avenues for drone-based models in logistics: A classification and review10.1016/j.eswa.2021.114854 ↗
22. Novel Electric Propulsion System Analysis Method for Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Aircraft Conceptual Design10.2514/1.C037225 ↗
23. A Review of Ground-Effect Diffuser Aerodynamics10.1115/1.4040501 ↗
24. Off-surface aerodynamic measurements of a wing in ground effect10.2514/2.3150 ↗
25. Experimental study of turbulence intensity influence on wind turbine performance and wake recovery in a low-speed wind tunnel10.1016/j.renene.2017.03.034 ↗
26. A twisted flow wind tunnel for testing yacht sails10.1016/S0167-6105(96)00080-3 ↗
27. Simulation of twisted wind flows in a boundary layer wind tunnel for pedestrian-level wind tunnel tests10.1016/j.jweia.2016.10.010 ↗
28. The wind engineering energy and environment (WindEEE) Dome at Western University, Canada10.5359/jawe.39.350 ↗
29. Computational Fluid Dynamics for urban physics: Importance, scales, possibilities, limitations and ten tips and tricks towards accurate and reliable simulations10.1016/j.buildenv.2015.02.015 ↗
30. Tennekes, H., and Lumley, J.L. (1972). A First Course in Turbulence, MIT press.10.7551/mitpress/3014.001.0001 ↗
31. Stull, R.B. (2012). An Introduction to Boundary Layer Meteorology, Springer Science & Business Media.
32. Ferziger, J.H., and Perić, M. (2002). Computational Methods for Fluid Dynamics, Springer.10.1007/978-3-642-56026-2 ↗
33. Versteeg, H.K. (2007). An Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics the Finite Volume Method, Pearson Education India. [2nd ed.].
34. Launder, B.E., and Spalding, D.B. (1983). The Numerical Computation of Turbulent Flows. Numerical Prediction of Flow, Heat Transfer, Turbulence and Combustion, Elsevier.10.1016/B978-0-08-030937-8.50016-7 ↗
35. Two-equation eddy-viscosity turbulence models for engineering applications10.2514/3.12149 ↗
36. IV. On the dynamical theory of incompressible viscous fluids and the determination of the criterion
37. Wilcox, D.C. (1998). Turbulence Modeling for CFD, DCW industries.
38. Strategies for turbulence modelling and simulations10.1016/S0142-727X(00)00007-2 ↗
39. Kundu, P.K., Cohen, I., and Dowling, D.R. (1990). Fluid Mechanics, Academic Press.
40. Rodi, W. (1991, January 7–10). Experience with two-layer models combining the k-epsilon model with a one-equation model near the wall. Proceedings of the 29th Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Reno, NV, USA.10.2514/6.1991-216 ↗
41. AIJ guidelines for practical applications of CFD to pedestrian wind environment around buildings10.1016/j.jweia.2008.02.058 ↗
42. Structure and life cycle of microburst outflows observed in Colorado10.1175/1520-0450(1988)027<0900:SALCOM>2.0.CO;2 ↗