Experimental and numerical characterization of wind-induced pressure coefficients on nuclear buildings and chimney exhausts

•Experiments on scale models of nuclear buildings and chimney exhausts were performed.•Pressure coefficient fields on buildings are shown for various wind directions.•Evolution of pressure coefficient vs U/W ratio is given for various chimney exhausts.•RANS simulations using SST k–ω turbulence model were performed on most studied cases.•A good agreement is overall observed, with Root Mean Square Deviation lower than 0.15. Wind creates pressure effects on different surfaces of buildings according to their exposure to the wind, in particular at external communications. In nuclear facilities, these effects can change contamination transfers inside the building and can even lead to contamination release into the environment, especially in damaged (ventilation stopped) or accidental situations. The diversity of geometries of facilities requires the use of a validated code for predicting pressure coefficients, which characterize the wind effect on the building walls and the interaction between the wind and chimney exhaust. The first aim of a research program launched by the French Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN), was therefore to acquire experimental data of the mean pressure coefficients for different geometries of buildings and chimneys through wind tunnel tests and then to validate a CFD code (ANSYS CFX) from these experimental results. The simulations were performed using a steady RANS approach and a two-equation SST k–ω turbulence model. After a mesh sensitivity study for one configuration of building and chimney, a comparison was carried out between the numerical and experimental values for other studied configurations. This comparison was generally satisfactory, averaged over all measurement points, with values of Root Mean Square Deviations lower than 0.15 for most cases.