Aerodynamic Modifications to the Shape of the Buildings: A Review of the State-of-the-Art

The development of high strength concrete, higher grade steel, new construction techniquesand advanced computational technique has resulted in the emergence of a new generation oftall structures that are flexible, low in damping, slender and light in weight. These types offlexible structures are very sensitive to dynamic wind loads and adversely affect theserviceability and occupant comfort. For a typical tall building, oscillations have beenobserved in the alongwind and crosswind directions as well as in the torsional mode. Toensure the functional performance of tall flexible structures and to control the wind inducedmotion of the tall buildings, generally different design methods, various types of passive aswell as active control devices and various types of aerodynamic modifications to theshape/geometry of the buildings are possible. This review paper presents an overview and asummary of past/recent work on various aerodynamic modifications to the shape of thebuildings like corner cuts, chamfering of corners, rounding of corners, horizontal and vertical slots, dropping of corners, tapering etc. to reduce the wind excitation of tall flexiblebuildings and its application in some of the tall buildings across the world.