Existing aeroacoustic issues of building elements

Abstract

During high wind events, certain building elements have the potential to generate significant tonal noise that can be heard miles away. These aeroacoustic issues are due to an interaction/coupling between an unstable fluid flow and a feedback mechanism, usually being a resonant acoustic mode. Aeroacoustic issues are often easy to avoid when susceptible geometry can be identified during the early design process, but mitigation can be technically difficult and very costly once issues do occur. Because aeroacoustic issues are unique and often annoying, they are often considered newsworthy and can be the subject of significant publicity. A series of case studies of existing structures, which have experienced aeroacoustic problems from their surrounding wind climate, are presented. Through each of these case studies, the steps used to identify suspect features and the recommended remedial measures are presented. The methodology for identification of the suspect feature may include investigating trends in weather data, conducting spectral analysis of audio recordings, performing calculations of the natural frequencies of building features, and on-site observations and measurements. Various mitigation strategies are detailed, depending on the mechanism found to be generating the aeroacoustic noise.