Comparisons of Aerodynamic Data with the Main Wind Force–Resisting System Provisions of ASCE 7-16. II: Mid- and High-Rise Buildings

AbstractThe purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of building geometry on tall-building aerodynamics, accompanying the analysis for low-rise buildings found in the companion paper. Aerodynamic data for total of 30 rectangular-plan buildings were obtained in wind tunnel experiments. This work tested building configurations with plan aspect ratios, L/B (where L is the horizontal dimension parallel to the wind and B is the across-wind dimension) ranging from 0.25 to 4 and height ratios, H/W (where H is roof height and W is the least horizontal dimension) ranging from 1 to 12. Additionally, this work made systematical comparisons with wind load provisions in Chapter 27 of ASCE 7-16. Buildings with ratios of H/W>∼4 have aerodynamic coefficients that are approximately constant, which means that this can be a practical aerodynamic definition of high-rise buildings. There is continuous variation of the aerodynamic coefficients for H/W