Large eddy simulation of flow over a three-dimensional hill with different slope angles

Slope variation will significantly affect the characteristics of the wind field around a hill. This paper conducts a large-eddy simulation (LES) on an ideal 3D hill to study the impact of slope on wind field properties. Eight slopes ranging from 10° to 45° at 5° intervals are considered, which covers most conventional hill slopes. The inflow turbulence for the LES is generated by adopting a modified generation method that combines the equilibrium boundary conditions with the Fluent inherent vortex method to improve the simulation accuracy. The time-averaged flow field and the instantaneous vortex structure under the eight slopes are comparatively analyzed. The accuracy of the present method is verified by comparison with experimental data. The slope can affect both the mean and fluctuating wind flow fields around the 3D hill, especially on the hilltop and the leeward side, where a critical slope of 25° can be observed. The fluctuating wind speeds at the tops of steep hills (with slope angles beyond 25°) decrease with increasing slope, while the opposite phenomenon occurs on gentle hills. With increasing slope, the energy of the high-speed descending airflow is enhanced and pushes the separated flow closer to the hill surface, resulting in increased wind speed near the wall boundary on the leeward side and inhibiting the development of turbulence. The vortex shedding trajectory in the wake region becomes wider and longer, suppressing the growth of the mean wind near the wall boundary and enhancing the turbulence intensity.