Comparisons of Two Wind Tunnel Pressure Databases and Partial Validation against Full-Scale Measurements

Abstract

Database-assisted design (DAD) is an integrated methodology that calculates wind loadings and wind-induced internal forces. It can also calculate demand-to-capacity indexes for each structural member, and by checking whether they differ significantly from unity, determine the adequacy of the members’ structural design. Its practical usefulness depends on the availability of comprehensive aerodynamic databases. A public domain aerodynamic database produced in 2003 by the University of Western Ontario (UWO) is not sufficiently extensive to satisfy design needs generally encountered in practice. For this reason, the Tokyo Polytechnic University (TPU) recently developed comprehensive sets of aerodynamic databases that are publicly available and would fill large voids present in the UWO database. This paper presents comparisons of aerodynamic pressures and forces based on TPU and UWO data for low-rise buildings to help assess the extent to which the respective aerodynamic pressure measurements are comparable. In addition, the paper presents a brief review of comparisons between full-scale and UWO wind tunnel measurements of pressures on the Texas Tech University experimental building. The results presented in the paper, though not exhaustive, suggest that TPU and UWO pressure simulations are reasonably equivalent, and may in practice be used for the design of main wind force resisting systems.