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PUBLICATIONS

Wind-Tunnel Model Scale and Estimates of Wind Effects on Low-Rise Buildings

Published

Author(s)

Michael A. Riley, Emil Simiu

Abstract

Although the wind load provisions of many modern building codes are based on the results of wind tunnel testing, some effects of model scale and pressure tap quantity are still not well understood. Using test data obtained at two different scales for a low-rise building, this work investigates the effects of model scale on the bending moment and force responses of the structure, and of the number of pressure taps used for the measurements. The results suggest that the wind tunnel model scale can have a significant impact on the predicted response of the proto-type structure, and the integral turbulence scale may play a significant role in the pressures on the wind tunnel model. However, errors in the measurement of the reference speeds may have been responsible for the observed difference between model results. The comparison of pressure tap densities showed that only about one-half of the number of pressure taps that were used was nec-essary to accurately determine the peak response of the structure.
Citation
International Conference on Wind Engineering
Pub Type
Journals

Keywords

database-assisted design, low buildings, model scale, wind effects, wind tunnel testing
Fire and Buildings and Construction

Citation

Riley, M. and Simiu, E. (2021), Wind-Tunnel Model Scale and Estimates of Wind Effects on Low-Rise Buildings, International Conference on Wind Engineering (Accessed April 26, 2024)

Created October 12, 2021