Review for practical application of CFD for the determination of wind load on high-rise buildings

This paper presents and discusses the important aspects to take into account when applying CFD simulations for the determination of wind loads on high-rise buildings. A review is given for the key parameters in the atmospheric boundary layer, in order to evaluate if the upstream wind flow in a numerical simulation is sufficiently generated.

The construction of the inflow boundary conditions can be divided into four main techniques, where the latest promising methods are assessed for flaws and strengths. Comparisons of numerical and experimental results are given for the generic CAARC building. The results showed large deviations from both the wind tunnel experiments and the numerical simulations, where it is evident that it is highly important only to compare results with equal inflow boundary conditions, as mismatching can lead to critical errors.

The results from the latest benchmark studies are encouraging and get more precise with the increasing knowledge. Unfortunately, each study has its own method for evaluating results, thus a best practice guide for CFD LES to determine wind loads for structural design is still in high demand. The paper is concluded with a discussion of the necessary research fields in future studies.