Abstract:
Greenhouses in agricultural production are mostly arranged in arrays, while existing codes have not fully considered the wind load interference effects between adjacent greenhouses. Wind tunnel pressure tests were conducted on tropical islands arch-shaped agricultural greenhouses arranged in tandem to investigate wind load interference intensity and mechanisms, overall and local wind load shape coefficients, and interference factors. The results indicate that the wind pressure interference mechanisms and intensity on the roof of the disturbed greenhouse are jointly influenced by the wind direction angle and spacing ratio. The interference intensity initially increases and then decreases with the wind direction angle, while it diminishes as the spacing ratio increases. The interference mechanism shifts from shielding at small deflection angles to the channeling amplification at medium deflection angles, reaching its most significant level at approximately 60°. Beyond large deflection angles, the interference weakens. For a single greenhouse, windward roof shape coefficients deviate substantially from current codes, whereas those of the disturbed windward roof shape coefficients show minor deviations from the U.S. code only at small spacing ratios. The shape coefficients for the roof area and leeward roof area align closely with European code values, while those for the wall surfaces exhibit significant deviations from existing codes. The local shape coefficients of the disturbed greenhouse roof exhibit alternating shielding and amplification effects with changing wind direction angles. The interference effect is most pronounced in the windward roof partitions, followed by the roof area, and least noticeable in the leeward roof area. The local unfavorable shape coefficient interference factor reaches up to 1.30 near the windward gable side edge of the roof, while it drops to as low as 0.64 in the central roof area and 0.74 at the roof edge away from the incoming flow side. These findings provide a theoretical basis for the wind-resistant design and layout optimization of agricultural greenhouse structures in tropical island regions.