Influence of Architectural Facades on Wind Pressures and Aerodynamic Forces of Tall Buildings

Architectural facades including balconies, mullions, shading boards, and ribs are widely used outside of tall buildings for the purpose of aesthetics and function. And these facades will affect the wind loads of tall buildings, such as the local wind pressure and aerodynamic force. Thus, to study the influence of architectural facades on wind loads of tall buildings is an important task in wind resistant design. However, most studies focus on the effect of the architectural facade on the local wind pressure using wind tunnel experiments. In the present paper, multiple point synchronous pressure measurements and high-frequency force balance (HFFB) experiments for tall buildings with various architectural facades are conducted to study the influence of different horizontal facades and vertical facades on the local wind pressures and the aerodynamic forces. The results show that the facade may have a significant influence on the local wind pressure and aerodynamic force, and the facade itself may suffer from the larger force. © 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.