Trees can play an important role in the cooling of cities and therefore the accurate modeling of their impact on airflow is a very relevant topic for environmental engineers. Due to their complex and adaptive geometries they are notoriously difficult to model. In this experiment airflow around different models of trees is measured with variable wind velocities, in order to analyze the impacts in real life due to dynamic similarity.
From the values we gathered it can be concluded that for simulations a half- sphere is a reasonable model for a spherical tree concerning the drag exerted on the wind and therefore wind shadowing. This model will probably be less accurate for measurements close to a tree, due to the local influences of the shape and wind flow through the tree itself, but for medium and large scale simulations it can be useful.
Report:
