The primary goal of this guide is to provide an overview of the wind tunnel testing process for design professionals. This knowledge allows readers to ask the correct questions of their wind engineering consultants throughout the design process. This is not an in-depth guide to the technical intricacies of wind tunnel testing, it focusses instead on the information the design community needs.

About the CTBUH About the Authors Preface 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Basis of Design 1.2 Wind Climate 2.0 Nature of Wind Effects 2.1 Planetary Boundary Layer and Wind Turbulence 2.2 Mean and Fluctuating Loads 2.3 Along-wind, Crosswind, and Torsional Loading 2.4 Background and Resonant Loads 2.5 Serviceability Accelerations 2.6 Vortex Excitation 2.7 Aerodynamic Damping and Galloping 2.8 Cladding Loads 2.9 Reynolds Number Effects 3.0 Wind Tunnel Testing Methods 3.1 Simulation of the Natural Wind at Small Scale 3.2 Test Methods to Determine Wind Loads on the Structural System 3.3 Aeroelastic Model Testing 3.4 Test Methods to Determine Cladding Loads 3.5 Other Types of Wind Related Studies 4.0 Prediction of Load Effects for Strength Design and Serviceability 4.1 Structural Properties of the Building 4.2 Load Effects 4.3 Non-Directional Method 4.4 Sector Velocity Method 4.5 Extreme Load Effect Method 4.6 Upcrossing Methods 5.0 Format for Comparing Wind Tunnel Results 5.1 Types of Comparison 5.2 Wind Climate Models, Velocity Profiles, and Turbulence 5.3 Aerodynamic Data 5.4 Predicted Building Response Variations 5.5 Responses Versus Return Period 5.6 Quality Assurance 6.0 Use of Wind Tunnel Results 7.0 References Bibliography CTBUH Height Criteria 100 Tallest Buildings in the World CTBUH Organization and Members