Experiments in a Large Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel: Upstream Terrain Effects on Surface Pressures Acting on a Low-Rise Structure

Abstract

An extensive series of experiments in a large boundary layer wind tunnel (BLWT) was carried out at the University of Florida (UF) Natural Hazard Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) Experimental Facility to investigate the effects of upwind terrain on surface pressures acting on a generic low-rise structure. Three scaled models of the Wind Engineering Research Field Laboratory (WERFL) building were subjected to 33 boundary layer flows through precise control of an automated roughness grid called the Terraformer. The roughness configuration of the Terraformer was adjusted to simulate a variety of upwind terrains ranging from marine to dense suburban. Surface pressures were obtained for the three models (1:20, 1:30, and 1:50), three wind directions (0°, 45°, and 90°), 16 roughness element heights, and two element orientations (wide and narrow edge windward). The complete dataset is publicly available on the NHERI DesignSafe cyberinfrastructure (CI) web-based research platform. The experimental data records can be reused to study the effects of upstream terrain on the aerodynamic loading acting on low-rise structures. Further, the inclusion of different model sizes enables investigation of scaling effects in the BLWT. The DOI for the dataset is 10.17603/DS2W670.