Numerical simulations of wind-driven rain on building envelopes based on Eulerian multiphase model

A numerical simulation approach for evaluation of wind-driven rain (WDR) on building envelopes is presented based on Eulerian multiphase model. Unlike existing methods, which are generally on the basis of Lagrange frame to deal with raindrop motions by trajectory-tracking techniques, the present approach considers both wind and rain motions and their interactions under Euler frame. By virtue of the Eulerian multiphase model, the present method could significantly reduce the complexity in evaluations of WDR parameters, simplify the boundary condition treatments and is more efficient to predict transient states of WDR, spatial distributions of rain intensity, impacting rain loads on building surfaces, etc. A numerical example shows that the simulation results by the present method agree well with available experimental and numerical data, verifying the accuracy and reliability of the WDR simulation approach based on the Eulerian multiphase model. It is also demonstrated through the validation example that the present method is an effective tool for numerical evaluations of WDR on building envelopes. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.