INVESTIGATION OF MEAN AND TURBULENT FLOW BEHAVIOUR OVER AN ESCARPMENT

Mean and turbulent flow behaviour over a 1:25 scale model of Bolund hill was investigated at Western University's Wind Engineering, Energy, and Environment Research Institute (WindEEE) using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). A range of upstream flow and surface conditions were considered. Results showed almost no Reynolds dependency on the mean flow and weak dependency of Reynolds number on the upstream surface roughness conditions. However, a strong Reynolds number and upstream surface rough dependency is observed on the turbulent flow particularly in the shear layer formed in the immediate downstream region of the escarpment. It is concluded that the consideration of Reynolds number independency must be cautiously used when extrapolating the flow parameters from scaled model testing to full scale in the field.