Wind Loads on Circular Storage Bins, Silos and Tanks: Part 2. Effect of Grouping

摘要

The paper describes the second phase of a research program in which wind loads on circular cross-section storage bins, silos and tanks were investigated. In the first phase, a wind tunnel testing technique was developed which adequately simulated the flow conditions experienced by full-scale structures, and single-point pressures on the walls and roofs of isolated structures were examined. Quasi-steady pressure distributions suitable for codes and standards were also derived. In the second phase, pressures on silos of unit aspect ratio, within an in-line group of 5 were investigated. As in the first phase, a single point pressure measurement technique was used. In addition, a pneumatic averaging technique, to enable pressures over a 'panel' of finite areas on the wall of the silo to be measured, was used. In a third phase, pairs of panels were sampled to derive 'joint' or 'two-point' statistics of the fluctuating pressures, using methodologies developed for other low-rise structures; these latter measurements enabled a picture of the instantaneous peak pressure distributions around the silo to be developed.