Influence of placement and height of high-rise buildings on wind pressure distribution and natural ventilation of low- and medium-rise buildings

High-rise buildings influence wind characteristics in complex urban areas and can significantly change the natural ventilation in adjacent low- and medium-rise buildings. The results of previous studies show that the windward zones of high-rise buildings can create adverse effects on natural air ventilation because they reverse the flow regime, simultaneously almost double the wind suction of downwind air zones, and increase the heat loss of smaller structures due to the resulting pressure distribution on the facade. In this study, the pressure distribution of low-and medium-rise buildings is measured in wind tunnels and discussed. It focuses on the fundamental understanding of the effects of high-rise building height and distance from adjacent structures on wind flow characteristics and natural ventilation. The study uses a pair of building models tested in a set of parametric experiments, comprising pressure measurements and particle image velocimetry (PIV).