Computational
simulations of turbulent flows around bluff bodies
The research activities have been directed
towards:
-
identifying
physical flow models (approaches to fully developed and wall bounded
turbulence) and robust and efficient numerical procedures (discretization
schemes in space and time, computational grids) suitable for Wind Engineering
flows;
-
comparison
between the obtained results and the ones from other computational studies and
their validation with respect to experimental measurements;
-
describing the expected complex flow
phenomena around the body and relating such phenomena to the fluctuating
aerodynamic forces acting on the structure itself.
The computational approach has been applied to a wide class of flows of various complexity with particular attention being paid to non stationary flows characterised by the vortex shedding in the wake of bluff obstacles, which are representative aerodynamics test cases for civil engineering structures. Several case studies promoted at international level has been assumed in the past. Recently, the writer has been one of the main promoters of an international a Benchmark on the Aerodynamics of a 5:1 Rectangular Cylinder (BARC, http://www.aniv-iawe.org/barc), under the umbrella of the International Association of Wind Engineering.
