3D CFD simulations of wind flow and wind-driven rain shelter in sports stadia: Influence of stadium geometry

Sports stadia are increasingly used to host a wide variety of activities that attract large attendances, ranging from sports matches to concerts, festivities and conferences. One of the crucial aspects of spectator comfort in open stadia is protection from wind and rain. However, in many stadia this part of spectator comfort is insufficiently taken care of. The main reason is that stadia and stadium roofs are often designed with only vertical rainfall in mind, neglecting the influence of wind that can sweep the rain onto the stands. This wind-driven rain (WDR) can reach a large area of the stand underneath the roof, resulting in discomfort for the spectators in this area. For stadium design, it is important to understand the interaction between wind and rain in different types of stadium geometry and its effect on wetting of the stands. This paper presents 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations of wind flow and WDR for twelve different generic stadium configurations that are representative for a wide range of existing stadia. The windflow patterns are determined by steady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations. The WDR trajectories are calculated using Lagrangian particle tracking, yielding the wetting pattern on the stands. This study demonstrates the influence of both overall stadium geometry and roof slope on the area of the stand that is wetted by WDR. It shows the importance of taking into account WDR in the stadium design process, and it provides some design guidelines to avoid this type of spectator discomfort.

[1]  Yoshihide Tominaga,et al.  AIJ guidelines for practical applications of CFD to pedestrian wind environment around buildings , 2008 .

[2]  P. Bradshaw,et al.  Momentum transfer in boundary layers , 1977 .

[3]  Michael Schatzmann,et al.  Recommendations on the use of CFD in wind engineering , 2004 .

[4]  Bje Bert Blocken,et al.  On the effect of wind direction and urban surroundings on natural ventilation of a large semi-enclosed stadium , 2010 .

[5]  Francis Allard,et al.  Aspects of stadium design for warm climates , 2009 .

[6]  J. Carmeliet,et al.  A review of wind-driven rain research in building science , 2004 .

[7]  Jon Wieringa,et al.  Updating the Davenport roughness classification , 1992 .

[8]  D. Grawe,et al.  BEST PRACTICE GUIDELINE FOR THE CFD SIMULATION OF FLOWS IN THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT , 2007 .

[9]  D. Sharon,et al.  THE WINDFIELD AND RAINFALL DISTRIBUTION INDUCED WITHIN A SMALL VALLEY: FIELD OBSERVATIONS AND 2-D NUMERICAL MODELLING , 1997 .

[10]  J. Carmeliet,et al.  Validation of CFD simulations of wind-driven rain on a low-rise building facade , 2007 .

[11]  Sung-Eun Kim,et al.  Computations of Complex Turbulent Flows Using the Commercial Code Fluent , 1999 .

[12]  Edmund C.C Choi,et al.  Simulation of wind-driven-rain around a building , 1993 .

[13]  J. Poesen,et al.  Numerical simulation of the wind-driven rainfall distribution over small-scale topography in space and time , 2005 .

[14]  Jan Carmeliet,et al.  Spatial and temporal distribution of driving rain on a low-rise building , 2002 .

[15]  F. Allard,et al.  Assessment of visual comfort of spectators in stadia , 2006 .

[16]  Jan Carmeliet,et al.  On the impact of roof geometry on rain shelter in football stadia , 2008 .

[17]  Hl Henk Schellen,et al.  Wind-driven rain on the facade of a monumental tower: numerical simulation, full-scale validation and sensitivity analysis , 2009 .

[18]  A. Best,et al.  The size distribution of raindrops , 1950 .

[19]  Horia Hangan,et al.  Wind-driven rain studies. A C-FD-E approach , 1999 .

[20]  Jan Carmeliet,et al.  The influence of the wind-blocking effect by a building on its wind-driven rain exposure , 2006 .

[21]  Edmund C.C Choi,et al.  Numerical modelling of gust effect on wind-driven rain , 1997 .

[22]  John Pascoe,et al.  Sports Facilities and Technologies , 2009 .

[23]  Jan Carmeliet,et al.  On the validity of numerical wind-driven rain simulation on a rectangular low-rise building under various oblique winds , 2009 .

[24]  van Fjr Fabien Mook,et al.  Driving rain on building envelopes , 2003 .

[25]  Francis Allard,et al.  Spectators’ aerothermal comfort assessment method in stadia , 2007 .

[26]  Jan Carmeliet,et al.  Impact of wind on the spatial distribution of rain over micro‐scale topography: numerical modelling and experimental verification , 2006 .

[27]  T. Shih,et al.  A new k-ϵ eddy viscosity model for high reynolds number turbulent flows , 1995 .

[28]  T. Stathopoulos,et al.  CFD simulation of the atmospheric boundary layer: wall function problems , 2007 .

[29]  Edmund C.C Choi.  Modelling of wind-driven rain and its soil detachment effect on hill slopes , 2002 .

[30]  Bert Blocken,et al.  Coupled urban wind flow and indoor natural ventilation modelling on a high-resolution grid: A case study for the Amsterdam ArenA stadium , 2010, Environ. Model. Softw..

[31]  Edmund C.C Choi,et al.  Parameters affecting the intensity of wind-driven rain on the front face of a building , 1994 .

[32]  J. Bouyer,et al.  Thermal comfort assessment in semi-outdoor environments: Application to comfort study in stadia , 2007 .

[33]  R. Gunn,et al.  THE TERMINAL VELOCITY OF FALL FOR WATER DROPLETS IN STAGNANT AIR , 1949 .

[34]  Cliff I. Davidson,et al.  Erosion of limestone building surfaces caused by wind-driven rain: 2. Numerical modeling , 2004 .

[35]  Edmund C.C Choi,et al.  Determination of wind-driven-rain intensity on building faces , 1994 .

[36]  B. Launder,et al.  The numerical computation of turbulent flows , 1990 .

[37]  Jörg Franke,et al.  The COST 732 Best Practice Guideline for CFD simulation of flows in the urban environment: a summary , 2011 .