Internal pressures in a full-scale test enclosure with windward wall openings: Fid-Bau Portal

Internal pressures in a full-scale test enclosure with windward wall openings

Humphreys, Mitchell T. / Ginger, John D. / Henderson, David J.

Abstract A single opening on the windward wall which generates large internal pressures in a building often defines the critical wind loading structural design criterion. This paper presents internal pressure fluctuations in a sealed Full-Scale Test Enclosure (FSTE) for a range of single windward wall opening configurations induced by atmospheric wind flow, to assess the influence opening size (i.e. S* = $(A^{3 / 2} / V) {(a_{s} / {\bar{U}}_{h})}^{2}$ ) has on the internal pressure. Damped Helmholtz resonance was observed for S* > 0.88, with peak and standard deviation internal pressures being about 5% higher than the external pressures when S* > 1.9. Internal pressure fluctuations are attenuated when S* < 0.75. The inertial coefficient C I is between 1.3 and 1.5 and the loss coefficient C L increases with increasing opening area (0.88 < S* < 5.8) between 10 and 20. These parameters have a significant influence on the internal pressure fluctuations, and this controlled full-scale study carried out for the first time provides data for validating analytical and model-scale studies on internal pressure fluctuations in buildings.

Highlights • A controlled full-scale study on internal pressures has been carried out for the first time. • Loss and inertial coefficients that are important parameters for determining the internal pressure fluctuations were determined for a range of single windward wall openings. • The ratio of internal to external pressure fluctuations were determined with respect to a non-dimensional opening area to volume parameter.