CREATION OF WIND-PROTECTIVE METATEXTILE STRUCTURES USING ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING METHODS

Abstract

The article examines the prospects of creating wind-protective metatextile structures using additive manufacturing methods. The feasibility of using spatial cellular structures consisting of repeated nodal elements and curved connecting links to control airflow is substantiated. The influence of geometry, porosity, thickness of structural elements, number of layers, and their spatial orientation on the aerodynamic resistance of metatextile structures is analyzed. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling in the SimScale software environment is proposed for studying airflow penetration, enabling the determination of velocity and pressure fields, pressure drop, local airflow characteristics, and flow reduction coefficients. A numerical study of four variants of spatial structures was performed at an identical inlet air velocity of 5 m/s. It was established that the structure with elastic curved connections provided the greatest reduction in airflow velocity, reaching 60%, while its pressure reduction coefficient was 0.280. The results demonstrate that parametric design and additive manufacturing provide opportunities for developing metatextile materials with differentiated wind-protective properties. The proposed approach can be applied to the development of lightweight, flexible, and functional clothing elements with a locally controlled level of protection against wind exposure.