Atmospheric boundary layer

Boundary layer: a common phenomena of fluid flows over a solid surface

Thickness of B.L. of air flow around an aircraft wing is about 2 ~ 3mm
Thickness of B.L. of atmospheric flow on the earth surface is about 200 ~ 1000m

The flow in B.L. is turbulent flow because the shearing of fluid layer generates
rolling eddies.
G
U
G
Z
gradient height
200 ~ 1000m
) (z U
) , ( t z U
z
roughness length z
0
.
.
.
Boundary layer
turbulence
Free atmosphere
(Free from surface
friction effect & low
turbulent intensity)
Gradient wind speed
Wind speed at
the height z
above the ground
Mean wind speed at
the height z
Mean speed profile
G
U
) (z U
) , ( t z U
Engineering viewpoint
Description of wind characteristics from engineering viewpoint:
A. The vertical profile of mean wind speed at the site
B. The expected maximum mean wind speed at the site of interest
C. The detailed characteristics of wind speed fluctuation (turbulence)
Wind speed measurement devices
Wind mast
[Source: http://green-power.com.pl/en/home/wiatr-i-jego-pomiar-w-energetyce-wiatrowej/]
Anemometer
Cup type
Propeller type
Ultra sonic type
Wind speed records
These records show that:

increases with the height z

For each height, remains comparatively steady over the record.

Characteristics of the fluctuation about the mean are

approximately the same for all height.

The fluctuations at different heights show some correlation (and the

predominant frequencies of the fluctuations are relatively low)
U
U
wind speed
time
U(z = 154m)
U(z = 64m)
U(z = 12m)
A. Mean wind profile - by logarithmic law

In theory, the profile of mean wind speed is best described by a logarithmic law:
where z
0
= the roughness length of the surface
z
r
= the reference height
(the typical of z
r
is 10m; it is the typical height of wind anemometer)
) / ( ln
) / ( ln
) (
) (
0
0
z z
z z
z U
z U
r r

Type of surface
z
0
(cm)
Sand 0.01 - 0.1
Low grass 1 4
High grass 4 - 10
Pine forest 90 - 100
Towns 80 - 120
Large cities 200 - 300
[Source: Table 2.2.1, p.45, Wind effects on structures, Simiu]
--- by power law

In engineering practice, the approximate profile of mean wind speed described by

a power law is commonly used:
for 0 < z < z
G
and for z z
G
In the case where is known, can be computed by setting z
r
= z
G

,
_

r r
z
z
z U
z U
) (
) (
G
U z U ) (
G
U ) (z U
Terrain type
Urban and suburban areas,
wooded areas
Open terrain with scattered
obstructions having heights
generally less than 9.1 m
Flat, unobstructed areas
and water surfaces

1/4 1/6.5 1/9
z
G
, m
365 275 215
[Source: Table 26.9-1, ASCE/SEI 7-10, p.256]
Vertical profiles of mean wind speed
[Source: Flow-induced vibration Blevins RD}

,
_

r r
z
z
z U
z U
) (
) (
B. Extreme wind climatology
U
U
U
where T = period of the record

T
dt t U
T
U
0
) (
1
) (t U
t
One record fluctuating component
of wind speed
u(t)
mean wind speed
time-varying
wind speed
) (t u U + U(t)
U
Mean wind speed:
Maximum mean wind speed

In order to make a rational wind-resistant design of a structure, you may need to

estimate the maximum that might occur during the life time of the structure
(e.g. 50 yrs or 100 yrs).

However, the available data of at meteorological station are usually very

limited; we may have data of for less than 10 yrs period.

The problem is how to estimate the maximum over a longer time period
Analysis of extreme wind speed
U
U
U
U
Wind speed data

Basic wind speed data available at a standard meteorological station

i. Hourly mean wind speed of 10-min mean wind speed
ii. Daily maximum mean wind speed: maximum of (i) in one day
iii. Monthly maximum mean wind speed: maximum of (i) in one month
iv. Yearly maximum mean wind speed: maximum of (i) in one year
U
{x
1
, x
2
, , x
m
} ex. m = 10
Data of yearly max. mean wind speed
A statistical model of x
A statistical model of y, where
y max{x
1
, x
2
, , x
N
}
N= design life time period of structures, ex. N = 50
Prediction of the mean value of y ( )
= expected max. mean wind speed over N year
Procedure in extreme wind analysis

Let define = daily maximum mean wind speed of the k

th
day
= yearly maximum mean wind speed of the j
th
year
k
U
j
x
y
y
1
st
year

'

365
2
1
U
U
U

x
1
max
2
nd
year

'

365
2
1
U
U
U

x
2
max
m
th
year
{ }
x
m
max

Review of Statistics - definitions

Lets define a probability function P associated with an event:

P(event) = 0 No chance that the event will become true
P(event) = 1 100% certainty that the event will become true

Let X be a random variable

x be a specified value
Cumulative distribution function (CDF): F
X
(x) P(X x)
(probability that the sample value of X falls below x)
Probability density function (PDF) f
X
(x)
hm phn b
hm mt phn b
i lng ngu nhin
<

) ( ) ( b x a P dx x f
b
a
X

x
X X
dx x f x F ) ( ) (
1 ) ( ) (

dx x f F
X X
) ( ) ( x f x F
dx
d
X X

) (x F
X
1
0
) (x f
X
x
x
Area under
curve = 1
0 P 1
gi tr mu, bin c, kt qu php th
- Statistical parameters
Suppose we have N sample values of X : {x
1
, x
2
, , x
N
}

Sample mean: = mean value / expected value of X

Sample variance: = variance of X

X
N
i
i
N
x
N
X

1
Large 1
( )
2
1
2 2
Large
1
1
X
N
i
i
X
N
X x
N
S

tp hp mu
trung bnh mu
phng sai mu
k vng ca i lng X
phng sai ca i lng X
calculated numbers from sample data
statistical parameters of X

Many physical random process are Gaussian distribution (normal distribution):

( )
< <
1
]
1

x
x
x f
X
X
X
X
,
2
exp
2
1
) (
2
2

) (x f
X
Symmetrical (wrt
X
)
Bell shape,
area under curve = 1
X

X
= a measure of scatterness around
the mean
X
= standard deviation
For a Gaussian process,
X
and
X

completely describe its probability density
function (2 parameters model)
- Statistics of extremes
Let X
1
, X
2
, , X
N
and Y
N
be random variables where
Assuming that X
1
, X
2
, , X
N
are statistically independent and identically
distributed, i.e. for all x
Normally, F
X
(x) can be estimated (or is given) and the task is to determine
{ }
N N
X X X Y ,..., , max
2 1

) ( ) ( ... ) ( ) (
2 1
x F x F x F x F
X X X X
N

) (x F
N
Y
[ ] { } [ ] x X X X P x Y P x F
N N Y
N
,..., , max ) (
2 1
[ ] x X x X x X P
N
... and and
2 1
[ ] x X x X x X P
N
... and and
2 1
Indep.
{ }
N
X X X X
x F x F x F x F
N
) ( ) ( ... ) ( ) (
2 1

Iden.
{ }
N
X Y
x F x F
N
) ( ) (
) (x F
x
X
F
N
Y
F
X

N
Y

- Asymptotic extreme - value distributions

The characteristics of CDF of the maximum value depend of the

characteristics of the F
X

(x) (parent distribution) in the upper tail range

It is fortunate that for a very wide class of parent distribution, CDF of the maximum
value of large random samples tend toward certain limiting distributions as the
sample becomes large. These are called asymptotic extreme-value distributions
and are of three main types I, II, III.

For example, if the particular variable of interest is the maximum of many similar but
independent events (e.g. the yearly max. hourly-mean wind speed at a particular
site), there are generally good theoretical grounds for expecting the variable to have
a CDF which is very close to one of the asymptotic extreme-value distribution
) (x F
N
Y
{ }
N
X
x F ) (
) (x F
N
Y
N : large
Wide class of distribution Asymptotic extreme-value distribution type I, II, III
- Type I - Gumbel distributions
If the upper tail of F
X
(x) falls off in an exponential manner, i.e.
where g (x) is an increasing function of x
then , for N large, will be of the form: [g(x)? proof?]

Now let
) (x F
N
Y
) (
1 ) (
x g
X
e x F


0 , )]} ( exp[ exp{ ) ( > x u x x F
N
Y
0 , )]} ( exp[ exp{ ) ( > x u x x F
X
)} ( )] ( exp[ exp{ ) ( ) ( u x u x x F
dx
d
x f
X X

577 . 0
) ( +

u dx x f x
X X
( )
2
2
2
2
6
) (

dx x f x
X X X

Gumbel distributions (cont.)

(the distribution is also type I distribution)
A useful property of the type I maxima distribution is that the distribution function
for the largest extreme in any sample of size N is also type I maxima
distributed. Furthermore, the standard deviation remains constant (is independent
of N).
{ } { }
N
u x
e
N
X Y
e x F x F
N
) (
) ( ) (

) ( ) ( u x
e
u x N
e
e e

N
u u
ln
+
) (x F
N
Y

N N
u
X Y
N
ln ln 577 . 0
+ + +
2
2
2
2
6
X Y
N

(shifted to the right)
( remains equal to ) N
Y

where
) 3 ( 2
) (

x
e
X
e x F
{ }
100
) ( ) (
100
x F x F
X Y

x
) (x F
X
) (x f
X
x
30 . 2
2
100 ln

There are three well-known CDFs for modelling F

X

(x):
Type I Gumbel distribution,
Type II Frechet distribution,
Type III Weibull distribution,
or their combinations.

The most widely used model is the type I:

- the distribution has only two parameters:
or inversely,
Therefore, given a set of sample data, one can estimate
X
by a sample mean &
by a sample variance, consequently and u can be estimated.
)]} ( exp[ exp{ ) ( u x x F
N
Y

577 . 0
+ u
X 2
2
2
6

X
X X X
u

45 . 0
577 . 0

X
X

78 . 0
1
6

2
X

Asymptotic extreme-value distributions

After some manipulations,

it turns out that:
{ }
N
u x
e N
X Y
e x F x F
N
) (
)} ( { ) (

Asymptotic extreme-value distributions (cont.)
N
X Y
N
ln
1

+
{ }
X X Y
N
N
ln 78 . 0 +
N
Y

N 0.78 lnN
1 0
5 1.79
50 3.05
100 3.59

The maximum mean wind speed over N years

period ( ) is higher than the maximum mean
wind speed over one year (
X
) by {0.78 lnN}
X
X
F
1
X
F
N
Y
F
Gumbel Gumbel
x
X
f
x
X
f
N
Y
f
X

N
Y

{ }
X
N ln 78 . 0

The following yearly maximum mean wind speed were recorded at one station over
16 consecutive years at 10m above ground in open terrrain:
56, 62, 69, 65, 63, 51, 51, 50, 61, 55, 57, 56, 59, 47, 47, 54 (mph)

Estimate the expected value of maximum mean wind speed over a 50-year period
at 10m above ground in open terrain.
Example 1
X
X
assume
mph 44 . 56
X X
S
assume
mph 43 . 6
{ } mph 1 . 76 50 ln 78 . 0 +
X X Y
N

For a short-term wind measurement (i.e. 3 years), it is better to use monthly maximum mean
wind speed instead of yearly maximum mean wind speed since more data points can be
used (3 12 = 36 points). So, a N-year period should be adjusted to a 12N-month period.
!

The following yearly maximum mean wind speed were recorded at one station over
16 consecutive years at 10m above ground in open terrrain:
56, 62, 69, 65, 63, 51, 51, 50, 61, 55, 57, 56, 59, 47, 47, 54 (mph)

Find the expected value of maximum mean wind speed over a 50-yr period at
100m above ground in open terrain.
Example 2
mph 4 . 108
10
100
) 10 ( ) 100 (
5 . 6 / 1
50 50

,
_

m m
Y Y

Potential sources of large errors in the estimation of :

- the change in location / calibration constant of anemometer during a long period of wind speed
measurement;
- the change in characteristics of terrain built-up terrain
- additional variability in wind recorded data tends to exaggerated the prediction (
X
then )
- analysis of gradient wind speed can avoid some of the problems since gradient wind speed
data are not affected by ground friction.

The effects of wind direction are not considered in the analysis. We usually assume
that the maximum wind speed occurs in the worst direction (conservative approach).

In hurricane-prone regions or tornado regions, this analysis is not valid. The data of
wind speed record are not well-behaved, they cannot be described by these standard
extreme distributions. Different extreme analysis is needed.
Remarks
N
Y

N
Y