WTG

Committees

Functions of the committees

The WTG committees are working groups that deal with specific topics in wind engineering. Their aim is to develop practical solutions to problems and, where appropriate, publish these in the form of technical notes (guidelines).

Three committees are currently active and meet online at regular intervals for committee meetings.

Committee 1

Building Aerodynamics

 

Committee 2

Wind comfort

 

Committee 3

Numerical Methods

 

Committee 1: Building Aerodynamics

Committee 1 sees itself as a technical committee for building aerodynamics. Its remit covers all issues relating to wind loads on buildings, wind-induced actions on structures and structural components, and the safety of buildings under such actions. This also includes meteorological issues relating to wind structure and wind statistics in extreme winds.

Current issues being addressed include the following areas:

  • Wind climate technology, e.g., extreme winds in climate change
  • Reliability and risk, e.g., service life considerations
  • Aeroelastic effects, e.g., on bridges
  • Wind effects on structures, e.g., aerodynamic coefficients, influence of wind direction
  • Applications, e.g., special construction conditions, facade loads, cantilever roofs

The introduction of the new wind load standard DIN 1055 Part 4, March 2005 edition, together with the correction sheet DIN 1055-4 Correction 1 from March 2006, is of particular importance. With its inclusion in the lists of technical building regulations of the federal states, the modern regulations of the new standard are now mandatory. The committee sees itself as a forum for scientific and technical clarification in the event of application problems. The new standard contains opening clauses that allow special investigations, e.g., tests in boundary layer wind tunnels, to be used to a greater extent than before to determine effects and reactions.

One of the main outcomes of the committee's work is the WTG Guideline M1 on Wind Tunnel Tests in Building Aerodynamics. In experimental building aerodynamics, boundary layer wind tunnels are used almost exclusively. The guidelines presented for conducting wind tunnel tests in building aerodynamics, with their description of the methodology used, are designed as a resource for those interested in wind tunnel tests on the one hand and for operators of boundary layer wind tunnels on the other, in order to ensure a comprehensive quality standard for the boundary layer wind tunnels involved.
 

Committee 2: Wind comfort

The WTG Committee 2 is working on the development of a WTG Guideline for the consideration and evaluation of wind comfort in pedestrian areas, particularly in the vicinity of large buildings.

The problem of wind comfort arises from the fact that higher wind speeds occur near larger buildings, which can be unpleasant or even dangerous for pedestrians or other road users. These safety and traffic problems often lead to restrictions on the use of the buildings concerned. In some cases, this can also lead to approval problems on the part of the authorities.

In order to bring the assessment of the issue to a uniform and thus comparable level, the committee compares two proven concepts from the literature and reconciles them with practical experience. The result is set out in the WTG Guideline M2 on wind comfort.

Chair:

Ass. Prof. Ph. D. Holger Koss

BYG DTU - Dpt. of Civil Eng.
Brovej, Building 118
DK 2800 Kgs. Lyngby
Tel.: +45-45-251655
Fax: +45-45-883282
Mobil: +45-42340648
hko@byg.dtu.dk

 

WTG Merkblatt M2

 

Committee 3: Numerical Methods

Committee 3 deals with the application of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to problems in wind engineering and is named after the technical term for this discipline, Computational Wind Engineering (CWE).

The committee has set itself the following objectives for the application areas of wind flow around buildings (wind comfort), wind loads on buildings, including fluid-structure interaction, pollutant dispersion, and urban climate:

  • Organization of experience exchange (industry, universities, program developers)
  • Recommendation of test cases for validation of CFD programs (benchmarks)
  • Definition of validation experiments
  • Development of a WTG Guideline for CWE

Das im August 2006 gegründete Komitee ist offen für neue Mitglieder und weitere Themenvorschläge. Diese Vorschläge sollten idealerweise an den Komitee-Vorsitzenden geschickt werden.