Research on Wind Environment Characteristics of the QiTai Radio Telescope Site Based on Wind Tower Measurements

Wind disturbance is one of the key factors affecting the high-precision pointing of large-aperture radio telescopes. Therefore, it is indispensable to monitor the wind environment of the site. This enables the acquisition of wind environment data, facilitating targeted wind-resistant design to maintain the observational performance of the radio telescope. A 60 m high wind tower is located within the QTT (QiTai Radio Telescope, 110 m) site. This study investigates the wind environment characteristics based on the wind data for the entire year of 2021. The analysis of anomalous data from the wind tower indicates that these are mainly caused by local freezing rain and snow conditions. The temporal variations and vertical distribution characteristics of the wind environment were analyzed. On an annual basis, winds predominantly originate from north–south, while those from east–west are relatively less frequent; 90% of the winds are less than 4 m/s; the maximum recorded wind speed is 22.29 m/s; the prevailing winds are from the SSE (south-southeast) direction. On a monthly basis, the distributions of wind direction and speed exhibit a distinct seasonal cycle, with wind speeds being relatively lower in winter. On a diurnal basis, the wind direction undergoes a reversal, with northerly winds prevailing during the day and southerly winds at night; the diurnal wind speed distribution shows that nocturnal wind speeds are relatively stable and lower. Daily wind speed statistics indicate that there were 79 days on which 90% of wind speeds throughout the day were less than or equal to 2 m/s. Compared to sites of other telescopes of a similar class, the wind environment at the QTT site is relatively favorable.