Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T15:53:52.880Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Brief Review of Wind Effects on Buildings and Structures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2016

C. Scruton
C. Scruton*
Affiliation:
Aerodynamics Division, National Physical Laboratory
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Present day structural forms and methods of fabrication have considerably increased the importance of wind as a design consideration. For estimations of the overall stability of a structure and of the local pressure distribution on the cladding, a knowledge of the maximum steady or time-averaged wind loads is usually sufficient. Mind tunnel tests to determine the wind loading coefficients are often made in smooth uniform flow, but for more accurate data account must be taken of the effects of the vertical gradient of wind speed and the turbulence of natural winds. Further research is needed into these effects and also into methods of obtaining a sufficient representation of the natural wind in the wind tunnel.

There are a number of ways by which wind excites structures into oscillation; among these are vortex excitation, galloping, proximity effects including buffeting, stalling flutter and classical flutter. The vortex and galloping excitation might be expected to be especially sensitive to the turbulence properties of the air flow. Also, in the absence of any mechanism for instability, atmospheric turbulence may directly excite oscillations through the random forcing by the pressure fluctuations which it produces. Further understanding of this problem must come through research into the effects of turbulence (and to the extent to which these effects may be disregarded), but the range of the conditions is so vast and complicated that it seems unlikely that sufficient aerodynamic and wind data will be accumulated to permit the response of a proposed structure to be calculated with reasonable certainty, and for major projects it is anticipated that comprehensive tests on aeroelastic models in wind tunnels with appropriate turbulent air flow will continue to offer the more reliable predictions.

The air flow around buildings is of concern inasmuch as it influences the dispersal of combustion and other gases from the smokestack and also in its effect on the speeds and turbulence of the wind over areas used by pedestrians. The erection of a tall building may cause an increase in wind speeds and gustiness at ground level. These problems of the external flow over buildings are readily examined in wind tunnels. For this purpose tunnels with large working sections are desirable to permit a sufficiently wide area of the neighbourhood to be represented.

Type
Industrial Aerodynamics
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 70 , Issue 665 , May 1966 , pp. 553 - 560
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 1966

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Maskell, E. C. A Theory of the Blockage Effects on Bluff Bodies and Stalled Wings in a Closed Wind Tunne R & M No 3400, 1965.Google Scholar
2. Gould, R. W. F. The Nature of Blockage Effects on Bluff Bodies in Enclosed Open Jet Wind Tunnels. NPL Aero Report in preparation.Google Scholar
3. Jensen, M. and Franck, N. Model-Scale Tests in Turbulent Wind. Part II—Phenomena Dependent on the Velocity Pressure. The Danish Technical Press, Copenhagen, 1965.Google Scholar
4. Vickery, B. J. Fluctuating Lift and Drag on a Long Cylinder of Square Cross-Section in a Smooth and in a Turbulent Stream. NPL Aero Report 1146, April 1965.Google Scholar
5. Scruton, C. and Newberry, C. W. On the Estimation of Wind Loads for Building and Structural Design. Proc Inst Civ Engrs, Vol 25, pp 97–126, June 1963.Google Scholar
6. Shellard, H. C. Extreme Wind Speeds over Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Met Mag London, Vol 87, p 257, 1958.Google Scholar
7. Scruton, C. On the Wind-Excited Oscillations of Stacks, Towers and Masts. Proc of Int Conf on Wind Effects on Buildings and Structures. Paper No 16. HMSO, 1965.Google Scholar
8. Reed, Wilmer H. III. Models for Obtaining Effects on Ground Winds on Space Vehicles Erected on the Launch Pad. Conference on the Role of Simulation in Space Technology. Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 1964.Google Scholar
9. Baird, R. C. Wind-Induced Vibrations of a Pipe-Line and its Cure. Trans Amer Soc Mech Engrs, Vol 77, No 6, August 1955.Google Scholar
10. Scruton, C. and Walshe, D. E. J. A Means for Avoiding Wind-Excited Oscillations of Structures with Circular or Nearly Circular Cross-Section. Unpublished Report NPL/Aero/335, October 1957.Google Scholar
11. Den Hartog, J. P. Transmission Line Vibration due to Sleet. Trans Amer Inst Elec Engrs, Vol 49, p 444, 1930.Google Scholar
12. Davis, D. A., Richards, D. J. W. and Scriven, R. A. Investigation of the Conductor Oscillation on the 275-kV Crossing over the Rivers Severn and Wye. Proc Inst Elec Engrs, Vol 110, p 205, 1963.Google Scholar
13. Vickery, B. J. and Watson, R. D. Flow Induced Vibrations of Cylindrical Structures. Proc 1st Australian Conf on Hydraulics and Fluid Mechanics, 1962.Google Scholar
14. Davenport, A. G. Amplication of Statistical Concepts to the Wind Loading of Structures. Proc Inst Civ Engrs, Vol 19, 1961.Google Scholar
15. Davenport, A. G. The Buffeting of Structures by Gusts. Proc Int Conf on Wind Effects on Buildings, and Structures. Paper No 9. HMSO, 1965.Google Scholar
16. Harris, R. I. The Response of Structures to Gusts. Proc Int Conf on Wind Effects on Buildings and Structures. Paper No 18. HMSO, 1965.Google Scholar