A Study of Nonstationary Wind Effects on a Full-Scale Large Cooling Tower Using Empirical Mode Decomposition

Wind effects on structures obtained by field measurements are often found to be nonstationary, but related researches shared by the wind-engineering community are still limited. In this paper, empirical mode decomposition (EMD) is applied to the nonstationary wind pressure time-history samples measu...

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Main Authors: X. X. Cheng, J. Dong, Y. Peng, L. Zhao, Y. J. Ge
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2017-01-01
Series:Mathematical Problems in Engineering
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/9083426
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spelling doaj-251393c42ce042e989a11587545cfc0c2020-11-25T00:57:38ZengHindawi LimitedMathematical Problems in Engineering1024-123X1563-51472017-01-01201710.1155/2017/90834269083426A Study of Nonstationary Wind Effects on a Full-Scale Large Cooling Tower Using Empirical Mode DecompositionX. X. Cheng0J. Dong1Y. Peng2L. Zhao3Y. J. Ge4College of Civil Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, ChinaCollege of Civil Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, ChinaCollege of Civil Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, ChinaState Key Laboratory for Disaster Reduction in Civil Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, ChinaState Key Laboratory for Disaster Reduction in Civil Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, ChinaWind effects on structures obtained by field measurements are often found to be nonstationary, but related researches shared by the wind-engineering community are still limited. In this paper, empirical mode decomposition (EMD) is applied to the nonstationary wind pressure time-history samples measured on an actual 167-meter high large cooling tower. It is found that the residue and some intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) of low frequencies produced by EMD are responsible for the samples’ nonstationarity. Replacing the residue by the constant mean and subtracting the IMFs of low frequencies can help the nonstationary samples become stationary ones. A further step is taken to compare the loading characteristics extracted from the original nonstationary samples with those extracted from the processed stationary samples. Results indicate that nonstationarity effects on wind loads are notable in most cases. The passive wind tunnel simulation technique based on the assumption of stationarity is also examined, and it is found that the technique is basically conservative for use.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/9083426
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author X. X. Cheng
J. Dong
Y. Peng
L. Zhao
Y. J. Ge
spellingShingle X. X. Cheng
J. Dong
Y. Peng
L. Zhao
Y. J. Ge
A Study of Nonstationary Wind Effects on a Full-Scale Large Cooling Tower Using Empirical Mode Decomposition
Mathematical Problems in Engineering
author_facet X. X. Cheng
J. Dong
Y. Peng
L. Zhao
Y. J. Ge
author_sort X. X. Cheng
title A Study of Nonstationary Wind Effects on a Full-Scale Large Cooling Tower Using Empirical Mode Decomposition
title_short A Study of Nonstationary Wind Effects on a Full-Scale Large Cooling Tower Using Empirical Mode Decomposition
title_full A Study of Nonstationary Wind Effects on a Full-Scale Large Cooling Tower Using Empirical Mode Decomposition
title_fullStr A Study of Nonstationary Wind Effects on a Full-Scale Large Cooling Tower Using Empirical Mode Decomposition
title_full_unstemmed A Study of Nonstationary Wind Effects on a Full-Scale Large Cooling Tower Using Empirical Mode Decomposition
title_sort study of nonstationary wind effects on a full-scale large cooling tower using empirical mode decomposition
publisher Hindawi Limited
series Mathematical Problems in Engineering
issn 1024-123X
1563-5147
publishDate 2017-01-01
description Wind effects on structures obtained by field measurements are often found to be nonstationary, but related researches shared by the wind-engineering community are still limited. In this paper, empirical mode decomposition (EMD) is applied to the nonstationary wind pressure time-history samples measured on an actual 167-meter high large cooling tower. It is found that the residue and some intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) of low frequencies produced by EMD are responsible for the samples’ nonstationarity. Replacing the residue by the constant mean and subtracting the IMFs of low frequencies can help the nonstationary samples become stationary ones. A further step is taken to compare the loading characteristics extracted from the original nonstationary samples with those extracted from the processed stationary samples. Results indicate that nonstationarity effects on wind loads are notable in most cases. The passive wind tunnel simulation technique based on the assumption of stationarity is also examined, and it is found that the technique is basically conservative for use.
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/9083426
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