This new bulletin is intended as a complement to the 2020 SNAME T&R Bulletin 5-4 (Guidelines for Wind Tunnel Testing of Offshore Units). In lieu of scale-model testing in a physical wind tunnel, this guideline takes a ‘model-of the model’ approach toward replicating these experimental tests in a numerical wind tunnel (at model-scale). Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), the fluid domain in a virtual wind tunnel is discretized and the equations describing the viscous air flow over the model are solved numerically. The forces and moments acting on the virtual model are evaluated from the pressure forces and viscous shear stresses acting on the model’s surface.
This guideline addresses the key elements of the CFD wind load simulation including the generation of the Computer-Aided Design (CAD) geometry model, implementation of the wind profile (atmospheric boundary layer) model, and set-up of the numerical CFD simulation. To establish a common framework for the accuracy and repeatability of these numerical CFD simulations, this guideline establishes specific recommendations for post-processing, standard reporting, as well as verification and validation.
SNAME welcomes comments and suggestions for improvement of this Guide. Comments or suggestions can be sent electronically to content@sname.org.