Wind-tunnel measurements of surface pressures on cubic building models at several scales

It is now accepted practice to determine wind effects on and around a building by measurements on a scaled model in a boundary-layer wind tunnel. At large scales of reproduction (e.g., 1100or1200) it is impossible to simulate the entire depth of the atmospheric boundary layer: only the lower one-half to one-third is modelled. This paper presents the results of a systematic series of tests to investigate scale effects under these conditions, and the consequences of not correctly matching model scale to simulation scale. Two test boundary-layer wind tunnel at linear scales of 1180and1360. Measurements of mean and fluctuating pressures on four sizes of cubic building models (50–400 mm) indicated that agreement could be obtained for the two different scales, but that for the larger scale (1180) the matching of model size to simulation scale was more critical.

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