Wind Environment

Posted on 12 October 2014

 

Over the past couple of years the number of skyscrapers being built in Australia and New Zealand have comfortably doubled. Today’s most ambitious designs are bigger, taller and because of that they need to deal with the wind environment a mile or so above ground. The latest building designs also seem to be thinner in an effort to save space but the thinner the building is the more efficiently it has to deal with strong gusts of wind without affecting the people inside. This is why it becomes important for designs or concepts to be put through a thorough wind tunnel test to test every aspect of its durability.

How we test buildings?

The best way to recreate a wind environment is to do so in a wind tunnel.  The wind tunnel allows us to simulate the same type of winds that a building will need to withstand when its several meters above ground. The data we receive from these tests gives us insight into the material faults, design problems and other safety aspects of the proposed building which can then be addressed by structural engineers. Since the reports we generate are highly detailed it makes the jobs of engineers somewhat easier as they look for innovative ways to make the building more durable and yet comfortable for the occupants.

Even though we are experiencing a boom in the construction industry the race to build the largest and most beautiful skyscrapers seem to have been kicking up speed too. However, despite the materials used and the talented people who design buildings it is imperative to test every aspect of a building’s durability before it can be constructed which in turn helps save investors millions of dollars. We have some of the best and most experienced professionals who are experts at testing buildings and so the data we provide is highly accurate. This ensures that structural engineers have no problem working out and fixing the problems.

If you are currently in the process of designing a sky scraper then feel free to contact us at +61-2-9567-0722 or send email us at reception@windtech.com.au.

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