Fluid–structure interaction simulations of wind gusts impacting a hyperbolic paraboloid tensile structure

The paper focuses on fluid–structure interactions (FSI) between a turbulent, gusty fluid flow, and a membrane structure. Lightweight structures are particularly vulnerable to wind gusts and can be completely destroyed by them, making it essential to develop and evaluate numerical simulation methods suited for these types of problems. In this study, a thin-walled membrane in the shape of a hyperbolic paraboloid (hypar) is analyzed as a real-scale example. The membrane structure is subjected to discrete wind gusts of varying strength from two different directions. A partitioned FSI approach is employed, utilizing a finite-volume flow solver based on the large-eddy simulation technique and a finite-element solver developed for shell and membrane structures. A recently proposed source-term formulation enables the injection of discrete wind gusts within the fluid domain in front of the structure. In a step-by-step analysis, first the fluid flow around the structure, initially assumed to be rigid, is investigated, including a grid sensitivity analysis. This is followed by examining the two-way coupled FSI system, taking the flexibility of the membrane into account. Finally, the study aims to assess the impact of wind gusts on the resulting deformations and the induced stresses in the tensile material, with a particular focus on the influence of different wind directions.