Wind-Induced Internal Pressures in Buildings

Abstract

Wind-induced internal pressures in buildings can be analytically evaluated by using external pressure coefficients appropriate for each surface of the building envelope. The evaluation considers the overall building porosity and the specific (intentional or unintentional) wall (or roof) openings. Analytically evaluated internal pressure coefficients show reasonable agreement with experimentally-determined values in either full-scale or boundary layer wind tunnel experiments. Comparison of internal pressure coefficients with those suggested in the North-American Standards indicate the need to consider further the influence of overall porosity and relative size of openings for better estimation of internal pressures. ANSI Standard in particular seems to underestimate wind-induced internal pressures for specific leakage configurations.