Mean interference effects between two buildings: effects of close proximity

Abstract

AbstractThis paper presents the mean interference effects between a pair of buildings located in close proximity in a geometrical configuration of L‐ and T‐plan shapes. Experiments are carried out in a closed‐circuit wind tunnel on models of a 1:300 scale to measure the mean pressure distributions on two building models located in close proximity and on models in isolated position over an extended range of wind directions. The mean responses of buildings, namely block 1 and block 2 of L‐ and T‐shaped arrangements subjected to interference effects, are evaluated using the experimentally obtained wind loads and compared it with the responses of a similar building in isolation. Significant changes are observed in the responses of block 1 and block 2 of L‐ and T‐shaped arrangements as compared to a similar building in an isolated position. The interference levels are found to be dependent strongly on the angle of attack and the arrangement of the buildings with respect to each other. At wind incidence angle 0°, the presence of block 1 reduces the mean along the wind displacement of block 2 of the L‐ and T‐shaped arrangements up to 21% and 37%, respectively, as compared to a similar block in an isolated position. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.