Experimental Investigations of the Aerodynamics and Wind Loading of Buildings with Balconies

Abstract

Balconies constitute an important element of the building design, especially in areas with a mild climate where they represent a characteristic component of the local architecture and provide the occupants an easy access to the environment. Nevertheless, in parallel with the aesthetics and functionality, balconies have an effect on the wind loading of buildings and if poorly designed it could bring catastrophic accidents. Failure of balcony glass handrail panels has been a frequent occurrence during past windstorms. Such failure poses safety concerns for the building residents and generates wind-borne debris affecting other structures downwind. The current methodology for establishing the wind effects on building facades involves determining the design load using the wind provisions of codes and standards (e.g., ASCE 7-16). However, the current methodology does not provide adequate guidance on the wind loading affecting the balcony glass hand railings in residential mid- and high-rise buildings. Large-scale testing of balcony handrail panels is essential as it provides more representative information about the realistic wind effects than the typical small-scale studies. However, as the model increases, the limited dimensions of wind tunnels does not allow simulating the low frequency end of the turbulence spectrum. To address these limitations, the Partial Turbulence Simulation (PTS) method compensate analytically for the effects of the missing low-frequency content of the spectrum. In this method, the turbulence spectrum is divided into two processes, where the high frequencies are simulated in the wind tunnel, and the low frequencies are treated in a quasi-steady manner. This PTS methodology is based on the assumption of Equilibrium of Small-scale Turbulence; however, this assumption is not applicable for tall buildings. The current study is an extension of the PTS to include balcony handrail panels in Tall buildings. Three scale experiments at 1:180, 1:67, and 1:25 were carried out to investigate the wind loading on balconies and the effect of balconies on wind loads of tall buildings. Analysis was compared among model scales and existing codes and standards on pressure coefficients on components and cladding.