Laboratory study of tornado-like loading on a low-rise building model: Fid-Bau Portal

Laboratory study of tornado-like loading on a low-rise building model

Chen, Qiang / Tang, Zhuo / Wu, Xinyang / Zuo, Delong / James, Darryl

Abstract To advance the understanding of tornado-like loading on low-rise buildings, a model of a building was tested in a tornado-like vortex generated by a large-scale tornado simulator. In the tests, the model translated with the middle section of the simulator floor through the vortex, and the pressures acting on the models were measured. The orientation of the model and the path, direction, and speed of the translation relative to the vortex were varied to simulate the scenarios of a tornado passing over or close to a building of various orientations in two opposite directions at multiple speeds. The pressure measurements were used to interpret the variation of the surface pressures on the model along the paths of the translations and investigate the dependence of the characteristics of the surface pressures on the orientation of the model and the path, speed, and direction of the translation in the context of the velocity and pressure fields of the vortex. In addition, the pressure measurements were also used to estimate the horizontal and vertical forces acting on the model. The characteristics of the resultant forces and the dependence of these characteristics on the same factors that affect the pressure characteristics were also investigated.

Highlights • A low-rise building model was tested in a tornado-like vortex generated in a tornado simulator. • The pressures and resultant forces on the building model are characterized. • The characteristics of the loading are interpreted in the context of the features of the tornado-like vortex. • The dependence of the loading characteristics on the orientation of the model is evaluated. • The dependence of the loading characteristics on the translation path, speed, and direction of the model is evaluated.