Building pressure coefficients: Application of three-dimensional CFD methods to prediction

Wind-induced pressure coefficients are required for evaluating the energy performance of existing buildings, validating new building designs and, most recently, for multizone air flow computer models as input data. However, the traditional method of obtaining pres sure coefficients, by experiment, is time consuming, expensive and not amenable to parametric changes. Work with an existing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code, FLUENT, has been carried out for the new application of predicting building pressure coefficients. The equations describing three-dimensional, turbulent flow fields around a building are solved using a finite difference technique. Comparison between experimental data and those of the CFD program showed good agreement. In addition, it is much more efficient and economical. To demonstrate the flexibility of the CFD model, a new design concept was also examined; this shows that building a through slot in the middle of a high-rise building reduces the wind induced pressure and thus the rate of air infiltration.