Prediction of wind effects on buildings using computational methods — review of the state of the art

Abstract

Advancements in computer software and hardware technology provide a new direction for analyzing engineering problems. Recently the field of wind engineering has gained significant momentum in the computer modelling process. This paper reviews the state of the art in computational wind engineering, including the finite element method, finite difference method, and control volume technique. A portion of this paper summarizes the research in this area carried out by the authors. Computations have been made for a variety of building configurations, including normal wind flow conditions for a building with different aspect ratios, and modelling wind environmental conditions around groups of buildings. The computer modelling technique may eventually enhance the design of buildings and structures against wind loading and supplement the current design practice of using building codes and standards or performing experiments in wind tunnels. Key words: buildings, computer modelling, pressure, velocity, wind engineering, wind tunnels.