Impact of wind on high-rise: A review on wind induced vibrations, aerodynamic design, pedestrian level wind effects

The rise in the construction of high-rise buildings can be attributed to a number of factors, including the economic rise of nations, the substantial rural-to-urban migration trend, and innovative technological breakthroughs in construction that facilitate the growth of high-rise construction. All these factors have contributed to the upward trajectory of high-rise building construction. However, increase in height of buildings make them susceptible to the undesired effects of high-speed winds. Different aerodynamic modifications are used to mitigate the aerodynamic oscillations that are caused by the wind. This article aims to provide a review on different modes of wind induced vibrations in high-rise buildings, aerodynamic modifications in high-rise buildings to mitigate wind induced loads and pedestrian level wind studies. The effectiveness of these modifications varies with the degree of modification applied. Helical buildings and tapered buildings show improved wind resistance with increase in angle of twist and tapering ratio. Small corner modifications up to 10% are more effective than larger corner modifications. Aerodynamic modifications also improve the pedestrian level wind environment around high-rise buildings with corner modifications reducing the shear layers and thus subsequently reducing the high wind speed regions whereas setbacks have exhibited reduction in wind velocities by up to 28-30% in front of them.