Computational predictions of flow over a 2-D building

Abstract Transient, 2-D computations were performed to simulate the flow over the Field Test Facility Building located at Texas Tech University. Texas Tech Building is approximately 9.1 m wide 13.7 m long, and 4.0 m high. The code used to carry out these computations is based on Spalding and Patankar's Semi-Implicit Method for Pressure Linked Equations or SIMPLE. A non-uniformly distributed Cartesian grid was used to represent the building geometry and a version of the κ-ϵ model was to simulate turbulence effects. Parameters of interest include building scale, approach velocity, and turbulence profiles. Wind tunnel data were used to define the approach velocity and turbulence profiles. Computations were carried out for a 1 to 100 scale building. The computational results are compared to surface pressure data reported for the Texas Tech Building by researchers from the Civil Engineering Department and to wind tunnel pressure data reported for a 1 to 100 scale model building by researchers at the Japanese Ministry of Construction. In addition, a visual comparison of the predicted large scale vortex structures formed at the leading edge of the roof with flow visualization results for tests of a 1 to 50 scale model building in the Mechanical Engineering Department's water table is presented.