• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.303-311
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• 2019

The effectiveness of aerodynamic modification to reduce wind loadings has been widely reported. However, most of previous studies have been investigated dynamic forces and pressure distributions on tall buildings with various unconventional configurations. This study was investigated dynamic characteristics and aerodynamic instability of super-tall buildings with unconventional configurations through extensive aeroelastic model experiments. Seventeen types of supertall building models were considered such as basic and corner modification with corner cut, chamfered, oblique opening, tapered, inversely tapered, bulged, helical with twist angles of $90^{\circ}$, $180^{\circ}$, $270^{\circ}$, $360^{\circ}$ and composite with $360^{\circ}$ helical & corner cut, 4-tapered & $360^{\circ}$ helical & corner cut, setback & corner cut, setback & $45^{\circ}$ rotate. As a result, aerodynamic characteristics of helical models with single modification are superior to those of other models with single modification. However, effect of twist angle for helical model is negligible. Further, the 4-tapered & $360^{\circ}$helical & corner cut model is most effective in reducing the along- and across-wind fluctuating displacement responses in all of experimental models.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.245-260
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• 2020

Wind load and responses are the major factors which govern the design norms of tall buildings. Corner modification is one of the most commonly used minor shape modification measure which significantly reduces the wind load and responses. This study presents a comparison of wind load and pressure distribution on different corner modified (chamfered and rounded) Y plan shaped buildings. The numerical study is done by ANSYS CFX. Two turbulence models, k-epsilon and Shear Stress Transport (SST), are used in the simulation of the building and the data are compared with the previous experimental results in a similar flow condition. The variation of the flow patterns, distribution of pressure over the surfaces, force and moment coefficients are evaluated and the results are represented graphically to understand the extent of nonconformities due to corner modifications. Rounded corner shape is proving out to be more efficient in comparing to chamfered corner for wind load reduction. The maximum reduction in the maximum force and moment coefficient is about 21.1% and 19.2% for 50% rounded corner cut.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.227-238
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• 2021

This study analyzed the pressure patterns and local pressure of tall buildings with corner modifications (recessed and chamfered corner) using wind tunnel tests and proper orthogonal decomposition (POD). POD can distinguish pressure patterns by POD mode and more dominant pressure patterns can be found according to the order of POD modes. Results show that both recessed and chamfered corners effectively reduced wind-induced responses. Additionally, unique effects were observed depending on the ratio of corner modification. Tall building models with recessed corners showed fluctuations in the approaching wind flow in the first POD mode and vortex shedding effects in the second POD mode. With large corner modification, energy distribution became small in the first POD mode, which shows that the effect of the first POD mode reduced. Among building models with chamfered corners, vortex shedding effects appeared in the first POD mode, except for the model with the highest ratio of corner modifications. The POD confirmed that both recessed and chamfered corners play a role in reducing vortex shedding effects, and the normalized power spectral density peak value of modes showing vortex shedding was smaller than that of the building model with a square section. Vortex shedding effects were observed on the front corner surfaces resulting from corner modification, as with the side surface. For buildings with recessed corners, the local pressure on corner surfaces was larger than that of side surfaces. Moreover, the average wind pressure was effectively reduced to 88.42% and 92.40% in RE1 on the windward surface and CH1 on the side surface, respectively.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.139-147
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• 2019

One of the most important factors in tall buildings design in urban spaces is wind. The present study aims to investigate the aerodynamic behavior in the square and triangular footprint forms through aerodynamic modifications including rounded corners, chamfered corners and recessed corners in order to reduce the length of tall buildings wake region. The method used was similar to wind tunnel numerical simulation conducted on 16 building models through Autodesk Flow Design 2014 software. The findings revealed that in order to design tall 50 story buildings with a height of about 150 meters, the model in triangular footprint with aerodynamic modification of chamfered corner facing wind direction came out to have the best aerodynamic behavior comparing the other models. In comparison to the related reference model (i.e., the triangular footprint with sharp corners and no aerodynamic modification), it could reduce the length of the wake region about 50% in general. Also, the model with square footprint and aerodynamic modification of chamfered corner with the corner facing the wind could present favorable aerodynamic behavior comparing the other models of the same cluster. In comparison to the related reference model (i.e., the square footprint with sharp corners and no aerodynamic modification), it could decrease the wake region up to 30% lengthwise.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.891-906
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to propose a modification factor to reflect the lateral stiffness modification when a step is located in flat plates. Reinforced concrete slabs with steps have different structural characteristics that are demonstrated by a series of structural experiment and nonlinear analyses. The corner at the step is weak and flexible, and the associated rotational stiffness degradation at the corner of the step is identified through analyses of 6 types of models using a nonlinear finite element program. Then a systematic analysis of stiffness changes is performed using a linear finite element procedure along with rotational springs. The lateral stiffness of reinforced concrete flat plates with steps is mainly affected by the step length, location, thickness and height. Therefore, a single modification factor for each of these variables is obtained, while other variables are constrained. When multiple variables are considered, each single modification factor is multiplied by the other. Such a method is verified by a comparative analysis. Finally, a complex modification factor can be applied to the existing effective slab width.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.235-253
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• 2019

This paper reviews shape optimization studies for tall and super-tall building design. Firstly, shape effects on aerodynamic and response characteristics are introduced and discussed. Effects of various configurations such as corner modifications, taper, setback, openings, and twists are examined. Comprehensive comparative studies on various configurations including polygon building models, and composite type building models such as corner-cut and taper, corner-cut and taper and helical, and so on, are also discussed under the conditions of the same height and volume. Aerodynamic characteristics are improved by increasing the twist angle of helical buildings and increasing the number of sides of polygon buildings, but a twist angle of $180^{\circ}$ and a number of sides of 5 (pentagon) seem to be enough. The majority of examined configurations show better aerodynamic characteristics than straight-square. In particular, composite type buildings and helical polygon buildings show significant improvement. Next, shape effects on pedestrian-level wind characteristics around tall and super-tall buildings are introduced and discussed. Corner modification buildings show significant reductions in speed-up areas. On the other hand, setback and tapered models with wider projected widths near the ground show adverse effects on pedestrian-level wind characteristics.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.573-594
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• 2016

Simultaneous pressure measurements on 2D square prisms with various corner modifications were performed in uniform flow with low turbulence level, and the testing Reynolds numbers varied from $1.0{\times}10^5$ to $4.8{\times}10^5$. Experimental models were a square prism, three chamfered-corner square prisms (B/D=5%, 10%, and 15%, where B is the chamfered corner dimension and D is the cross-sectional dimension), and six rounded-corner square prisms (R/D =5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 30%, and 40%, where R is the corner radius). Experimental results of drag coefficients, wind pressure distributions, power spectra of aerodynamic force coefficients, and Strouhal numbers are presented. Ten models are divided into various categories according to the variations of mean drag coefficients with Reynolds number. The mean drag coefficients of models with $B/D{\leq}15%$ and $R/D{\leq}15%$ are unaffected by the Reynolds number. On the contrary, the mean drag coefficients of models with R/D=20%, 30%, and 40% are obviously dependent on Reynolds number. Wind pressure distributions around each model are analyzed according to the categorized results.The influence mechanisms of corner modifications on the aerodynamic characteristics of the square prism are revealed from the perspective of flow around the model, which can be obtained by analyzing the local pressures acting on the model surface.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.55-66
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• 2022

Tall buildings are often subjected to steady and unsteady forces due to external wind flows. Measurement and mitigation of these forces becomes critical to structural design in engineering applications. Over the last few decades, many approaches such as modification of the external geometry of structures have been investigated to mitigate wind-induced load. One such proven geometric modification involved the rounding of sharp corners. In this work, we systematically analyze the impact of rounded corner radii on the reducing the flow-induced loading on a square cylinder. We perform 3-Dimensional (3D) simulations for high Reynolds number flows (Re=1 × 105) which are more likely to be encountered in practical applications. An Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation (IDDES) method capable of capturing flow accurately at large Reynolds numbers is employed in this study. The IDDES formulation uses a k-ω Shear Stress Transport (SST) model for near-wall modelling that prevents mesh-induced separation of the boundary layer. The effects of these corner modifications are analyzed in terms of the resulting variations in the mean and fluctuating components of the aerodynamic forces compared to a square cylinder with no geometric changes. Plots of the angular distribution of the mean and fluctuating coefficient of pressure along the square cylinder's surface illustrate the effects of corner modifications on the different parts of the cylinder. The windward corner's separation angle was observed to decrease with an increase in radius, resulting in a narrower and longer recirculation region. Furthermore, with an increase in radius, a reduction in the fluctuating lift, mean drag, and fluctuating drag coefficients has been observed.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.499-517
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• 2010

Advances in structural materials and construction methods have resulted in flexible and light tall buildings, making an assessment of structural safety during strong wind and serviceability/habitability during comparable medium/weak wind important design criteria. So far, lots of studies on suppressing the wind-induced responses have been carried out for tall buildings with aerodynamic modification. Most of the studies on aerodynamic modification have forced on the corner modification, while the studies on taper and set-back are limited. Changes of sectional shape through taper and set-back can modify the flow pattern around the models, encouraging more 3-dimensionalities, which results in reducing the wind-induced excitations. This paper discusses the characteristics of overturning moments and wind-induced responses of the tall buildings with height variations. The reduction of mean along-wind and fluctuating across-wind overturning moments are apparent in the suburban area than in urban area. A series of the response analyses, the rms displacement responses of the tall buildings with height variations are reduced greatly, while the rms acceleration responses are not necessarily reduced, showing dependences on wind direction.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.331-352
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• 2015

A series of wind tunnel tests were conducted on tapered super high-rise buildings with a square cross section by applying synchronous pressure measurement technology. The effects of global strategy of chamfered modification on aerodynamic loads and wind-induced responses were investigated. Moreover, local aerodynamic strategies of opening a ventilation slot in the corner of equipment and refuge floors were carried out. Results show that the global strategy of tapered elevation increased the vortex shedding frequency, but reduced vortex shedding energy, leading to reduction of across-wind aerodynamic loads and responses. Chamfered modification suppressed the across-wind vortex shedding effect on tapered buildings. Opening the ventilation slot further suppressed the strength of vortex shedding and reduced the residual energy related to vortex shedding in aerodynamic loads of chamfered buildings. Finally, the optimized locations of local aerodynamic strategies were suggested.