How do I determine wind loads on structures of any shape?

Answer

The new stand-alone program RWIND Simulation provides you with the options for wind simulation and for generating wind loads. The options can be optimally utilized in conjunction with the FEM structural analysis software RFEM or the structural frame analysis software RSTAB.

Input

The direct import of models from RFEM or RSTAB allows you to determine the relevant parameters of the wind directions to be analyzed with height-dependent wind profiles on the basis of a wind standard. This results in the corresponding load cases with globally defined parameters.

You can also run RWIND Simulation manually without RFEM or RSTAB. Furthermore, it is possible to import the data from STL vector graphics.

The import of terrain and buildings of the environment into the simulation is also possible from STL files.

By exchanging the data between RFEM or RSTAB and RWIND Simulation, you can easily use the wind analysis results as load cases in the usual RFEM or RSTAB work environment.

Features of RWIND Simulation

3D incompressible wind flow analysis with OpenFoam solvers
Direct model import of RFEM or RSTAB or STL files
Simple model changes using Drag and Drop and graphical adjustment assistance
Automatic corrections of the model topology with shrink wrap networks
Option to add objects from the environment (buildings, terrain, ...)
Height-dependent velocity profiles according to the standard
K-epsilon and K-omega turbulence models
Automatic mesh generating adjusted to the selected depth of detail
Parallel calculation with optimal utilization of the capacity of multicore computers
Results in just minutes for low-resolution simulations (up to 1 million cells)
Results within a few hours for simulations with medium/high resolution (1‑10 million cells)
Graphical display of results on the Clipper/Slicer planes (scalar and vector fields)
Graphical display of streamlines and streamline animation