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Wind and Structures Volume 17, Number 1, July 2013, pages 69-85 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12989/was.2013.17.1.069 |
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Wind loading on trees integrated with a building envelope |
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Aly Mousaad ALY, Fabio Fossati, Sara Muggiasca,
Tommaso Argentini, Girma Bitsuamlak, Alberto Franchi,
Nicola Longarini, Pietro Crespi and Arindam Gan Chowdhury,
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| Abstract | ||
| With the sustainability movement, vegetated building envelopes are gaining more popularity. This requires special wind effect investigations, both from sustainability and resiliency perspectives. The current paper focuses on wind load estimation on small- and full-scale trees used as part of green roofs and balconies. Small-scale wind load assessment was carried out using a wind tunnel testing in a global-effect study to understand the interference effects from surrounding structures. Full-scale trees were investigated at a large open-jet facility in a local-effect study to account for the wind-tree interaction. The effect of Reynolds number combined with shape change on the overall loads measured at the base of the trees (near the roots) has been investigated by testing at different model-scales and wind speeds. In addition, high-speed tests were conducted to examine the security of the trees in soil and to assess the effectiveness of a proposed structural mitigation system. Results of the current research show that at relatively high wind speeds the load coefficients tend to be reduced, limiting the wind loads on trees. No resonance or vortex shedding was visually observed. | ||
| Key Words | ||
| green building envelope; full-scale testing; tall buildings; tree; wind loading; wind tunnel | ||
| Address | ||
| Aly Mousaad ALY : Louisiana State University, Louisiana, USA; Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy; Western University, Ontario, Canada Fabio Fossati, Sara Muggiasca and Tommaso Argentini: Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy Girma Bitsuamlak : Western University, Ontario, Canada ;Florida International University, Florida, USA Alberto Franchi, Nicola Longarini and Pietro Crespi: Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy Arindam Gan Chowdhury : Florida International University, Florida, USA | ||