FULL-SCALE MEASUREMENT OF WIND-INDUCED INTERNAL-PRESSURES IN A HIGHRISE BUILDING

The characteristics of wind-induced internal pressures in a high-rise building have been investigated. Full-scale measurement were taken usi ng absolute pressure meters, which allowed high-resolution measurement s. This paper outlines full-scale measurements of wind velocity, wind direction and external and internal pressures on a 29-story building, commencing in January 1993. It also describes the characteristics of n atural wind above the building's penthouse and mean wind-induced inter nal pressures measured in September 1995 when a typhoon hit the Kanto area. The internal pressure coefficients obtained from these measureme nts were about -0.26, and were constant over the building's height. Th e influence of internal walls and doors on measured mean internal pres sure coefficients was found to be insignificant, and roughly the same values were obtained at different locations on the same floor. The mea n internal pressure coefficients estimated from the mean wind pressure coefficient obtained from wind tunnel testing was -0.26, which is the same as that obtained from the full-scale measurement. Therefore, it is inferred that the mean wind pressure coefficient obtained from the wind tunnel testing is sufficient for examining average internal press ure.