Comparison of three widely-used aerodynamic modifications that minimize the impact of wind loads on tall buildings

For tall buildings, motion caused by wind is usually the most damaging to the lateral support system. As a result, engineers have invented many different methods to limit the motion of the buildings, for example dampers, bracings and outriggers etc. Aerodynamic modification, which is a passive approach, can also be used to reduce the impacts of wind loads. In this thesis, three widely-used aerodynamics modifications are discussed: 1) Shaping the corners of buildings, 2) Addition of openings through buildings and 3) Optimizing cross-sectional shapes of buildings. Comparison based on five criteria related to economy, sustainability, appearance, ease of construction and effectiveness in suppressing response of buildings caused by wind, is performed. With the help of a comparison matrix, it is shown that for a building located in downtown Boston, the method based on optimizing cross-sectional shapes is the best option.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Kwok, Raymond Hoi-Kit

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Jerome J. Connor.

• Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/38946

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/38946