Characteristic of wind loads on a hemispherical dome in smooth flow and turbulent boundary layer flow

A series of wind tunnel tests was performed to investigate the effects of Reynolds number on the aerodynamic characteristics of hemispherical dome in smooth and turbulent boundary layer flows. Reynolds number of this study varies from 5.3×104 to 2.0×106. Instantaneous pressures were measured through high frequency electronic scanner system. Mean and RMS pressure coefficients on the center meridian and the overall pressure patterns of domes were calculated for comparative study. The results indicate that, in smooth flow, the transition of separation flow occurs in-between Re=1.8×105–3.0×105 and pressure distributions become relatively stable after Re>3.0×105. In turbulent flow, the transition of separation flow occurs at lower Reynolds number, Re<1.1×105, while the pressure distributions become Reynolds number independent at Re=1.0–2.0×105.