New Insights into Atmospheric Boundary Layer and Its Interaction with Engineering Structures in Complex Terrain

Improving the understanding of complicated interactions between the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) and engineering structures in complex terrain is crucial for various engineering applications such as wind loading estimation and wind farm layout optimization. Despite extensive efforts to elucidating the dominant features of neutrally-stratified atmospheric flows over engineering structures, significant challenges remain to be addressed, as some important aspects of flow physics (e.g. Coriolis force, thermal stratification) within the ABL and their impacts on flow over engineering structures in complex terrain have not been completely understood. Recent advances in experimental devices and numerical approaches are expected to provide new insights into atmospheric flow interactions with engineering structures in complex terrain by accurately reproducing the effects of Coriolis force and thermal stratification.



This collection aims to deepen the understanding of atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) interactions with engineering structures in complex terrain and facilitate various wind engineering and energy applications, such as wind loading estimation and wind farm layout optimization. The lack of consideration of physical atmospheric processes and their influence on flow fields over buildings and wind turbines in hilly terrain poses challenges for accurately predicting wind loading on buildings and turbine wake characteristics. To address these challenges, novel experimental instruments and numerical frameworks should be developed to reasonably reproduce the effects of Coriolis force, buoyancy force and heat transport. Additionally, the impacts of Coriolis force and thermal stratification on turbulent flow fields over engineering structures in complex terrain should be comprehensively analyzed. Moreover, the potential benefits of incorporating these factors into real engineering applications are expected to be demonstrated.



Specific topics of interest include, but are not limited to:



• Advances in experimental instruments (wind tunnel);

• Advances in numerical frameworks (microscale, mesoscale and multi-scale coupling);

• Effects of Coriolis force/thermal stratification on atmospheric boundary layer flows over complex terrain

• Effects of Coriolis force/thermal stratification on aerodynamic loads of high-rise buildings/wind turbines over complex terrain

• Effects of Coriolis force/thermal stratification on wind turbine wakes over complex terrain

• Uncertainty quantification of the effects of Coriolis force and thermal stratification on wind loading estimation of high-rise buildings over complex terrain

• Uncertainty quantification of the effects of Coriolis force and thermal stratification on wind resource assessment over complex terrain

• Wind farm layout optimization over complex terrain considering the effects of Coriolis force and thermal stratification



Authors are also encouraged to identify future research needs and directions to enrich the knowledge of atmospheric flow interactions with engineering structures in complex terrain.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• ... View all formats

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Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review

Keywords: Atmospheric Boundary Layer, Flow Interaction, Engineering Structures, Complex Terrain, Aerodynamic force, Wake characteristics

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.