Wind tunnel testing of high-rise buildings : an output of the CTBUH Wind Engineering Working Group

Since the 1960s, wind tunnel testing has become a commonly used tool in the design of tall buildings. It was pioneered, in large part, during the design of the World Trade Center Towers in New York. Since those early days of wind engineering, wind tunnel testing techniques have developed in sophistication, but these techniques are not widely understood by the designers using the results. As a direct result, the CTBUH Wind Engineering Working Group was formed to develop a concise guide for the non-specialist. The primary goal of this guide is to provide an overview of the wind tunnel testing process for design professionals. This knowledge allows readers to ask the correct questions of their wind engineering consultants throughout the design process. This is not an in-depth guide to the technical intricacies of wind tunnel testing, it focusses instead on the information the design community needs, including: a unique methodology for the presentation of wind tunnel results to allow straightforward comparison of results from different wind tunnel laboratories. advice on when a tall building is likely to be sufficiently sensitive to wind effects to benefit from a wind tunnel test background for assessing whether design codes and standards are applicable details of the types of tests that are commonly conducted descriptions of the fundamentals of wind climate and the interaction of wind and tall buildings This unique book is an essential guide for all designers of tall buildings, and anyone else interested in the process of wind tunnel testing for tall buildings. Cover 1 Title 2 Copyright 3 Contents 6 About the CTBUH 7 About the Authors 8 Preface 9 1.0 Introduction 11 1.1 Basis of Design 11 1.2 Wind Climate 12 2.0 Nature of Wind Effects 16 2.1 Planetary Boundary Layer and Wind Turbulence 16 2.2 Mean and Fluctuating Loads 16 2.3 Along-wind, Crosswind, and Torsional Loading 17 2.4 Background and Resonant Loads 17 2.5 Serviceability Accelerations 18 2.6 Vortex Excitation 18 2.7 Aerodynamic Damping and Galloping 19 2.8 Cladding Loads 20 2.9 Reynolds Number Effects 20 3.0 Wind Tunnel Testing Methods 21 3.1 Simulation of the Natural Wind at Small Scale 21 3.2 Test Methods to Determine Wind Loads on the Structural System 21 3.3 Aeroelastic Model Testing 23 3.4 Test Methods to Determine Cladding Loads 25 3.5 OtherTypes of Wind Related Studies 26 4.0 Prediction of Load Effects for Strength Design and Serviceability 27 4.1 Structural Properties of the Building 27 4.2 Load Effects 27 4.3 Non-Directional Method 28 4.4 Sector Velocity Method 28 4.5 Extreme Load Effect Method 29 4.6 Upcrossing Methods 29 5.0 Format for Comparing Wind Tunnel Results 30 5.1 Types of Comparison 30 5.2 Wind Climate Models, Velocity Profiles, and Turbulence 30 5.3 Aerodynamic Data 30 5.4 Predicted Building Response Variations 33 5.5 Responses Versus Return Period 34 5.6 Quality Assurance 34 6.0 Use of Wind Tunnel Results 36 7.0 References 37 Bibliography 37 CTBUH Height Criteria 39 100 Tallest Buildings in the World 43 CTBUH Organization and Members 47