Application of Vortex Lattice Method and Surface Spline Function in Terrain-Induced Wind Field

Abstract

A numerical simulation method for the wind field over complex terrain is developed in this paper. The complex terrain is represented by a surface, which is established by the surface spline method basing on the contour line of the map. Then it is divided into panels containing vortex ring singularities. The singularity distribution is solved by combining with the potential flow theory and the boundary condition of terrain surface. Finally, the wind field is simulated by linear superposition of the uniform stream and the induced velocity of vortex rings. A numerical example is studied, and the result indicates that the method proposed in this paper could describe the terrain much more accurately and provide a reasonable result of wind field distribution, but has a simple and efficient procedure, which is suitable for the engineering use in flight dynamics.