CFD prediction of flowfield and snowdrift around a building complex in a snowy region

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique is applied to the prediction of snowdrift around a nine-storey apartment building. A modified version o f the Launder-Kato-type k-epsilon model (LK model) is used. In the first pa rt of the paper, results of a preliminary study for a flowfield around a cu be placed in a channel flow are presented. Here, results obtained by using the modified LK model are compared with those of measurements and the stand ard k-epsilon model. The latter part describes the numerical prediction of snowdrift around a nine-storey apartment building: which is presently under construction in Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture. Special emphasis is give n to snowdrift into the elevator hall. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All r ights reserved.