Abstract:

This study is concerned with reviewing and analyzing methods used in early design stages to mitigate wind effects on high-rise buildings. In order to mitigate wind effects on structures and specifically high-rise buildings, early stage aerodynamic design decisions are made. Architects try to mitigate the wind effects on buildings by choosing the right form configuration like tapering or setbacks, etc., or by making vital decisions in the early design stage. On the other hand, structural engineers utilize the structural system that can best counteract forces acting on the stability of the building. For both architects and engineers, there are many tools to use in early design; including advanced analysis methods, wind tunnel testing,and wind studies combined with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. This study reviews general architectural and structural design configurations performed in the early phases of the design process, for achieving structural stability, comfort, and cost control. The research methodology depends on the study and analysis of different international building examples, and also on reviewing two local high-rise building cases in Amman, Jordan. The study concludes that there are many architectural aerodynamic configurations for the purpose of mitigating wind loads, which can be used as guidelines in the early design phases.

Key words: High-Rise buildings, wind mitigation, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), model configuration, aerodynamic design, wind tunnel testing