State-of-the-art wind tunnel modelling for building aerodynamics

Abstract

The basic principles involved in wind tunnel testing are explored in this paper. Despite the vast development in computation skill and the availability of sophisticated software and supercomputers, determination of wind effects on buildings and structures is still a problem which cannot be dealt with solely by analytical methods. Wind tunnel testing remains the most reliable method today. The need for wind tunnel tests comes from a number of requirements including estimation of wind loading of building structures, roofs, glazing and cladding. In the design of modern prestigious buildings, other serviceability factors affecting the comfort of building occupants and pedestrians have become increasingly important. These have led to increasing concern on the determination of wind-induced responses and pedestrian level wind environment from a wind tunnel test. In this paper, a number of issues related to wind tunnel testing such as quality assurance of testing, current state-of-the-art modelling of natural wind, measurement of wind pressure, determination of wind forces and dynamic responses and the need for full scale monitoring are reviewed and discussed.