Spatiotemporal variation in air density and associated effects on the wind-induced response of high-rise buildings

• Published in: Engineering structures 2022-08, Vol.264, p.114428, Article 114428
• Main Authors: He, Yinghou, Yu, Chunying, He, Yuncheng, Yan, Bowen, Fu, Jiyang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air density; Building design; Density; High rise buildings; High-rise building; Model testing; Spatiotemporal variation; Structural response; Typhoon; Typhoons; Variation; Weather stations; Wind effects; Wind engineering; Wind resistance; Wind tunnel testing; Wind tunnels
• ISSN: 0141-0296; 1873-7323
• DOI: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2022.114428

•Investigate the spatiotemporal variation in air density regarding latitude, ground elevation and season.•Propose a vertical profile empirical model of air density.•Demonstrate the rationality of the proposed profile for comfort assessment via a wind tunnel test of high-rise buildings. It is widely acknowledged that the density of the atmosphere noticeably varies with space and time. However, the effects of spatiotemporal variation in air density on the wind-induced response of building structures, especially of high-rise buildings, have usually been neglected in practice. This paper presents a field study on the spatiotemporal variation in air density based on meteorological records collected from weather stations at various latitudes and ground elevations. The vertical profile of air density in a typhoon’s core region is highlighted, and a data-driven profile model is proposed. The dependence of wind-induced response of high-rise buildings on air density is then investigated via a wind tunnel test. A pressure model for a high-rise building with a square cross-section is tested, and the wind-induced acceleration response of the building is estimated. The results suggest that if the proposed profile of the typhoon air density is adopted, the estimation of the wind-induced structural response would be below the permitted level, while if a scheme with a constant air density is adopted, the structural response would exceed the limit. This means that taking the spatiotemporal variation in air density into account in wind-resistant building design can sometimes lead to considerable economic benefits.