A Study of the Internal Boundary Layer Generated at the Alcantara Space Center

Abstract

An atmospheric Internal Boundary Layer (IBL) occurs when sudden changes in surface roughness disturb wind flows. The region of the Brazilian Alcantara Space Center (ASC), with its rocket launching pad located 150 m downwind of a 40 m coastal cliff, presents the formation of an IBL due to winds blowing inland from the ocean. Numerical simulations using the immersed boundary method, experiments in a wind tunnel using particle image velocimetry, and field observational data obtained from anemometric towers were used to study this IBL. The results demonstrated that it is dependent on the geometry of the coastal cliff: its height is around 17 and 15 m for slopes of the coastal cliff of 90º and 135º, respectively. The numerical results show a good agreement with the experimental data and the field observations, but with an overestimation of the vorticity field. The IBL significantly influences the wind flow at the launching pad.