Abstract

Wind load is one of the most critical design parameter for buildings. In order to minimize the effect
of wind, several methods are made. Shape of building is one of such approaches. This project
presents a study of the effect of building shape on the response to wind. Three different shapes
of buildings have been considered to model a specific length away from the source with varying
wind intensities. The result depicts that shape of building has a noticeable effect in the forces
applied by the wind.
REFERENCE
(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303945216_Effect_of_building_shape_on_the_respo
nse_to_wind_and_earthquake)

Theory Behind the Structural Enhancement

The world is currently undergoing the biggest wave of tall building construction in history. The use
of higher-strength materials, lightweight floors, and curtain wall system in the construction of tall
buildings has reduced building weight, stiffness, and damping values. Therefore, tall buildings are
more susceptible to wind loads and wind-induced excitations which have the potential to reduce
their structural safety and cause discomfort to the occupants. Also, these excessive motions can
create high base loads which increase the cost of the structure.
For typical tall buildings, aerodynamic forces are drag force (alongwind), lift force (acrosswind)
and torsional moment (Fig. 1a).

Fig. 1. (a) Aerodynamic forces on a tall building; (b) Vortex shedding (plan view).

The wind-induced response of tall buildings is usually dominated by dynamic acrosswind loading
resulting from wind vortex shedding as shown in Fig. 1b. When wind blows over a bluff structure,
flow separates and causes periodic shedding of vortices. This periodic vortex shedding exerts
acrosswind forces on the body by creating fluctuating pressures. Strouhal number is a non-
dimensional parameter that defines the dominant frequency of the fluctuations in the acrosswind
forces and is expressed as (Eq. (1)):

=
U
where, f is the frequency of vortex shedding, S is the Strouhal number, U is the wind speed and
B is the building width. Strouhal number is a function of the shape of the building with values
between 0.1 to 0.3, e.g. about 0.14 for a square cross section and 0.2 for a roughly circular
cylinder. Vortex-induced vibrations (VIV) occurs when the frequency of vortex shedding, f,
approaches one of the natural frequencies of the building. This leads to amplified acrosswind
response. Vortex-induced vibrations are the prime problem in self-excited vibration of tall flexible
buildings.
Aerodynamic mitigation techniques which utilize modifications to the external shape of a building
(e.g. corner modifications, variation of the cross section shape and size along the height of the
building, etc.) can significantly reduce building response under wind loads by altering the wind
flow pattern around the building and can lead to a more economic and comfortable design. Shape
effects from a wind engineering perspective have been investigated by Davenport through
aerodynamic model tests. Many researches were performed to study the relationship between
the aerodynamic characteristics of a structure and the resulting wind-induced excitation level.
REFERENCE
Maryam Asghari Mooneghi, Ramtin Kargarmoakhar, Aerodynamic Mitigation and Shape
Optimization of Buildings: Review, In Journal of Building Engineering, Volume 6, 2016, Pages
225-235, ISSN 2352-7102, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2016.01.009.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352710216300092)

Description of The Structure and The Materials Used

Four different shapes of building are used in the study:
Shape Dimensions
Rectangular Prism
Corner cut/ Chamfered corners
Round Corner
Cylindrical

The building are made out of styrofoam. An electricfan is used to model the different intensities
for the wind load.

Simple Tests