One of the most important forces that civil engineers, architects and urban planners need to take into account in the building design process is wind. For high-rise buildings, the risk of being affected by the wind is particularly critical. If the location deals with high wind speeds—as is the case for coastal cities and other regions—conducting wind engineering studies is important even for urban areas with smaller structures due to complex interactions. Such studies evaluate wind loads and pedestrian wind comfort and are standard in most construction projects. They can predict potential negative effects and can help optimize designs to mitigate these effects early in the development process. This article focuses on wind loads and how professionals working in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry can benefit from simulation to analyze the loads and safety of the built structures. In most wind engineering studies, there are two main areas of focus:
The world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, was expected to have strong wind loading and wind-induced motions. In fact, the wind engineering team hired for the project prepared for the building to be able to withstand wind gusts of up to 149 miles per hour. At the same time, vortex shedding was a serious risk that needed to be accounted for, due to the structure being so tall (higher than 2,716 feet) and slender. Based on the results of wind tunnel testing, several design improvements for optimizing the building’s aerodynamics were made, including softening the building's corners, gradually reducing the width of the skyscraper at higher levels, and changing the orientation of the building sections to disturb the wind in our favor. The result is a stable structure that is renowned not only for its height but also for it being optimized for wind effects. Confirming Burj Khalifa’s capacity to withstand wind forces, the following numerical simulation results from SimScale give a better overview of this civil engineering and architecture masterpiece. Video 1: Burj Khalifa
At the time of its completion in 2015, 432 Park Avenue was the tallest residential building in the world. As of November 2019, it occupies the third place in the same category, at 1,396 feet high. Located in a densely built area, on Billionaires' Row in New York, the super skinny skyscraper uses a unique strategy to reduce wind loads; at regular intervals along its height, floors are left completely empty, to allow wind to pass through. Video 3: 432 Park Avenue
In this new age, buildings are not only getting taller to save space, but also becoming complex icons of society that define art and culture. As architects and engineers are building intricate and challenging designs, using innovative simulation solutions for analyzing wind effects is essential. High fidelity engineering simulation, and computational fluid dynamics in particular, can assist in evaluating and optimizing designs early in the development process, as a complement to legacy wind tunnel testing, for ensuring safety and sustainability of the structure and the environment around it.
Written by {{author.AuthorName}} - {{author.AuthorPosition}}, {{author.Company}} {{author.Company}} Contact Info: {{author.OfficePhone}} , {{author.EmailAddress}}
{{comment.Text}}