Optimizing Glass Design: The Role of Computational Wind Engineering & Advanced Numerical Analysis

Abstract

Wind induced pressure is a major design consideration for glazing design. However, the effects of façade geometry and urban terrain on wind loading are often difficult to quantify without costly and time-consuming wind tunnel testing.  Accurate 3-dimensional data, covering most major cities, is becoming increasingly accessible, and such models are ideal to support numerical modelling of environmental effects on the built environment, especially if such modelling attempts to capture the geometric effects of the cityscape.  A new methodology to assess the effects of wind loads on the structural strength of glass using transient, geometrically non-linear analyses and improved glass failure prediction models is presented.  A description is provided for both the calculation of wind-induced façade loads, and the development and employment of a finite element (FE) solver to model façade performance.