Forces and pressure distributions on building facades with a screen: Two dimensional experimental and numerical studies

The definition of wind loads on building envelopes is still an open issue in wind engineering. The aimed prediction of the net pressures acting on the envelope requires the knowledge of both external and internal pressure distributions, which is a problem in most practical cases, because of the many scales and parameters involved. Moreover, the large number of variables related to the building facade complicates the classification of the available case studies as highlighted by the lack of design rules in the wind loading codes. The present work deals with ongoing numerical and experimental studies on two-dimensional screened sections in order to better understand the aerodynamic behavior of building envelopes. Tests have been carried out at different Reynolds numbers, varying the gap between the screen and the building sections, the shape of the screened building, the type of screen and the angle of attack.