Comparison of model/full-scale wind pressures on a high-rise building

Abstract Recent experience with wind-induced glass breakage in high-rise office towers has demonstrated the difficulty of pin-pointing potential problem areas on a building and hence the need for a better understanding of the magnitude and nature of cladding loads. Results of surface wind pressure measurements made simultaneously at 32 points on a 57-storey office tower in Toronto are reported. In addition to readings taken at 1 2 - second intervals during high winds, mean and root-mean-square pressures were recorded for a 5-minute interval once each hour, and pressure coefficients referred to the free stream dynamic pressure at 286 m were computed for comparison with wind tunnel test information which was used in the design of the cladding.