The prospect ahead

Abstract

The exacting nature of the problems of architectural aerodynamics and some of the difficulties of obtaining an accurate solution to them from laboratory experiments are described. Among the latter is the uncertainty associated with scale effect, which requires for its resolution more observations of the flow patterns about, and measurements of the wind pressures on, actual buildings and structures. The possibility of constructing a special wind tunnel is also mentioned. A dual approach to aerodynamic research is advocated: such that work in large wind tunnels, with complicated architectural models and elaborate simulation of the atmospheric wind, proceed in parallel with investigations on a simpler scale. The latter should concentrate on fundamental aspects of bluff body flows; particularly their unsteady components, their interaction with shear and turbulence in the approaching stream, as well as their dependence on the shape of the body, on any vibration it may exhibit and on its interference with neighbouring bodies. Examples are given of some of the subtle and surprising features of such flows. The architect is invited to specify the accuracy he requires of aerodynamic data and is urged to regard the wind-tunnel test, with full representation of the atmospheric wind and its turbulent structure, as a routine element in the design process.