# A model of roof-top surface pressures produced by conical vortices : Evaluation and implications

• Banks, D. (Fluid Mechanics and Wind Engineering Program, Civil Engineering Department, Colorado State University) ;
• Meroney, R.N. (Fluid Mechanics and Wind Engineering Program, Civil Engineering Department, Colorado State University)
• Published : 2001.08.25

#### Abstract

The greatest suction on the cladding of flat roof low-rise buildings is known to occur beneath the conical vortices that form along the roof edges for cornering winds. In a companion paper, a model of the vortex flow mechanism has been developed which can be used to connect the surface pressure beneath the vortex to adjacent flow conditions. The flow model is experimentally validated in this paper using simultaneous velocity and surface pressure measurement on a 1 : 50 model of the Texas Tech University experimental building in a wind tunnel simulated atmospheric boundary layer. Flow visualization gives further insight into the nature of peak suction events. The flow model is shown to account for the increase in suction towards the roof corner as well as the presence of the highest suction at wind angles of $60^{\circ}$. It includes a parameter describing vortex suction strength, which is shown to be related to the nature of the reattachment, and also suggests how different components of upstream turbulence could influence the surface pressure.

#### Acknowledgement

Supported by : US National Science Foundation

#### References

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