Compare Tornado Force Coefficients on Dome and Prism Building Using Three-Dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics Model

Abstract

Wind loads on structures have been investigated for the last five decades. For straight line (SL) wind, the forces on buildings are available from standards and wind tunnel testing. Few studies have been conducted to investigate tornado forces on cubical buildings and to distinguish between tornadic wind loads and SL wind loads. In the tornado-damaged areas, dome buildings seem to have less damage. However, few studies have been investigated to study a tornado interaction with a dome building. In this work, the forces on a dome are computed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for tornadic and SL wind. Then, the interaction of a tornado on a dome and a prism building are compared and analyzed. This work describes the results of the tornado wind effect on a dome building. The conclusions drawn from this study are illustrated by various visualizations. The tornado force coefficients on a dome building are larger than force due to SL wind, about 40% more in x-direction and 120% more in z-direction. The tornado maximum pressure coefficients also are higher than SL wind by 130%. The tornado force coefficients on the prism are larger than the forces on the dome, about 150% more in x-direction and about 110% more in z-direction. The tornado maximum pressure coefficients on prism also are greater, by 200%. Hence, a dome building has less tornadic load than a prism because of its aerodynamic shape.