Codes Requirements in Execution of Wind-Tunnel Tests

Wind-tunnel tests are used in determining design wind loads for structures with unusual shapes, unusual response to lateral loading, or location where channeling effects or buffeting in the wake of upwind obstructions are likely to occur. Tests also are desirable where wind records are not available or when more accurate information is needed. Codes often require that the following conditions be met in execution of wind-tunnel tests:

1. Air motion should be modeled to account for variation of wind speed with elevation and the intensity of the longitudinal component of turbulence.

2. The geometric scale of the model should not be greater than 3 times that of the longitudinal component of turbulence. 

Burj Dubai: Wind Tunnel Model-Aeroelastic Model at 1:500 scale

3. Instruments used should have response characteristics consistent with the required accuracy of measurements to be recorded.

4. Account should be taken of the dependence of forces and pressures on the Reynolds number of the air motion.

5. Tests for determining the dynamic response of a structure should be conducted on a model scaled with respect to dimensions, mass distribution, stiffness, and damping of the proposed structure.