Welcome to the Australasian Wind Engineering Society, your source of information on all wind engineering related matters.

The Australian Wind Engineering Society (AWES) was formed in 1985 and in 1998 changed its name to the Australasian Wind Engineering Society to reflect the Trans-Tasman nature of the membership. The Society's objectives are the promotion and advancement of the practice of wind engineering and industrial aerodynamics. The AWES is a non-profit organisation with strong links to both academic and industrial engineering communities. Membership is open to any persons with interests in these areas. News On October 20 the latest version of the Australia/New Zealand Wind Actions Standard, AS/NZS1170.2, was released in draft format for public comment. All AWES members are encouraged to view the updated Standard and contribute to its finalisation. A free version of the draft Standard is available for electronic download here, with public comment open until December 21, 2009. Archived Newsletters August 2009 (PDF 177KB) November 2008 (PDF 248KB) January 2008 (PDF 260KB) May 2007 (PDF 343KB) June 2006 (PDF 1.32MB) Gallery images

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JDH Consulting 6 Charman Rd Mentone Victoria 3194 AUSTRALIA Ph: +61 (0)3 9584 5885 Fax: +61 (0)3 9585 3815

WINDTECH Consultants 19 Willis Street Wolli Creek

NSW 2205 AUSTRALIA email: john.holmes@jdhconsult.com web: http://www.jdhconsult.com Ph: +61 (0)2 9567 0722 Fax: +61 (0)2 9567 0733 email: reception@windtech.com.au web: http://www.windtech.com.au

CPP Unit 2 500 Princes Highway St Peters NSW 2044 AUSTRALIA Ph: +61 (0)2 9551 2000 Fax: email: info-syd@cppwind.com web: http://www.cppwind.com

VIPAC Engineers and Scientists Ltd Unit E1-B Centrecourt 25 Paul St. Nth. North Ryde NSW 2113 AUSTRALIA Ph: +61 (0)2 9805 6000 Fax: +61 (0)2 9878 1112 email: seifub@vipac.com.au web: http://www.vipac.com.au

C-Buck Engineering 1334 S. Killian Dr, Suite 4 West Palm Beach FL 33403 USA Ph: +1 561 491 9927 Fax: +1 561 491 9928 email: cbuck@cbuckinc.net web: http://www.cbuckinc.net If your company would like to advertise on this page then please contact the AWES for more details. These are paid advertisements by the respective companies and are not endorsed by the AWES.

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Australasian Wind Engineering Society 2009. Redesign by Wallhead Multimedia Last edited: 01/12/2009

Wind Environment Studies The importance of ensuring a safe and comfortable wind environment in the vicinity of new buildings is now acknowledged by project managers and architects alike. Developers are also beginning to realise the economic benefits in ensuring a favourable wind environment in areas that involve commercial activities. Wind tunnel testing is the best means of predicting and alleviating wind problems around urban structures.

Adverse wind conditions may occur as a result of wind "funnelling" between buildings or the "downwash" effect caused by tall buildings in windy environments. Side streams moving around the corners of the development can also have a considerable impact on the local wind environment. The increasingly popular use of outdoor spaces integrated with shopping arcades highlights the need for engineered design. Peak gust wind velocities are measured using either hot wire anemometers or Irwin probes. The illustrations on this page show typical building models being tested in our boundary layer wind tunnel

using hot-wire probes. Wind tunnel data is computer processed and compared with recommended wind acceptance criteria. These criteria focus on activities that may occur about a building such as, pedestrian movements, window shopping, or sitting in courtyards/terraces or outdoor restaurants/cafes.

Where unacceptable wind conditions are found to occur, remedial measures are recommended and the proposed solutions are incorporated into the model and tested in the wind tunnel to obtain a definitive result. Treatment options include:

Strategic Planting of trees / shrubs Strategic placement of awnings / canopies Erection of screens / baffles Efficient design of airlocks Adjustment to the building form Combinations of the above

In addition, WINDTECH Consultants has a policy of providing innovative solutions to ensure that the design intent of the architect is not compromised. Below are some examples: Example of a solution to a sidestream effect affecting a proposed outdoor dining area

Add a free-standing canopy at the corner of the undercroft area to deflect downwashed side-streams and introduce street tree planting for protection from incident ground level winds.

Wind Projects WINDTECH has provided wind engineering services for over 700 major projects throughout Australia and South-East Asia. Below are Case Studies for some selected projects:

Case Study ::: Q1 Tower SURFERS PARADISE, AUSTRALIA An example of a wind tunnel study undertaken by WINDTECH is the Q1 Tower, Surfers Paradise, currently the world's tallest residential tower building. The building's dynamic response to wind loads was measured. more...

Case Study ::: Capital Plaza ABU DHABI An extensive study of the local wind climate indicated that this region is dominated by synoptic winds at serviceability situations, while storms dominated the ultimate design loads. more...

Case Study ::: Marina Boulevard Towers SINGAPORE These towers have an unusual design similar to a pair of yacht sails. This is an extensive study, involving a study of the overall structural loads on the structural frame, the design cladding pressure distributions and the local pedestrian wind environments. Innovative treatment solutions were formulated to achieve acceptable levels of pedestrian comfort.

Case Study ::: Century Tower SYDNEY In 1994 Windtech Consultants undertook the following studies for this 50-storey slender tower: structural loads building motion study faade pressure study wind environment study on-site measurement of the building's natural frequencies, post-construction.

The aeroelastic modelling technique was used for the structural loads/ building motion study for this tall-slender building, which was to become the tallest residential building in Australia at the time. The faade pressure study resulted in substantial savings in the cost of the faade cladding. The wind environment study confirmed that this tower development will result in no adverse impacts at street level. Some treatment options were recommended for the western aspect of the podium.

ESD Studies (NatHERS / BASIX) Tony Rofail is an ABSA certified NatHERS assessor (No. 20364). Tony has the advantage of understanding the concepts of energy efficient designs, having provided consulting services to the architectural profession in Natural Ventilation, Daylight and Solar Access since 1996. This experience enables him to easily identify costeffective treatments that are effective is bringing about the desired outcome. WINDTECH Consultants expertise has been recognised in the inaugural Urban Development Institute of Australia Awards, which commenced in 2004. In fact, Windtech Consultants are associated with four out of the five winning entries. For projects in New South Wales, Windtech Consultants also conducts BASIX assessments, including the assessment of features such as the Landscape Index, Water and Storm Water Drainage and Appliances.

Solar Access Studies Many local government authority now require an assessment of the quality of the living spaces in new residential unit developments largely in terms of their energy efficiency. As part of this exercise, an assessment of the adequacy of direct sunlight as a source of thermal energy is assessed. If required, the potential for excess solar energy is also assessed. Windtech Consultants have considerable experience in undertaking this type of study.

Solar Reflectivity Analysis Solar glare from buildings is known to be a potential hazard to motorists. For this reason, councils now generally require a study of solar reflectivity from large building projects and recommendations for solving potential glare problems. The method adopted by WINDTECH to examine solar reflectivity from buildings was developed by David N. H. Hassall. The Hassall technique is much simpler and more efficient than other methods such as those involving computer modeling and provides more information. The method is based on the use of a glare protractor and reflection protractor which determine the amount of glare to be expected from any building surface and the degree of annoyance. The advantages of using the Hassall technique include the following : Assesses potential reflections throughout the day (with different weighting between summer and winter solstices) in one simple diagram for each aspect of the building. This allows easy identification of the potentially affected zones; The precise effect of land topography, building alignments etc on the visibility of the building being studied is taken into account; The shielding effect of street objects such as trees, bill-boards can be readily and easily quantified; A direct comparison can be made with the standard comfort criterion of 500 candellas/sqm suggested by David N. Hassall, the same criterion being adopted by a number of major local government bodies; The limiting reflectivity ratio of glazing, which will ensure that the glare will comply with the comfort criterion, can be easily determined from the glare protractor.

 For those cases in which the resulting glare exceeds the criterion, one may easily determine the approximate times and days in which the glare will exceed the comfort criterion. The Hassall technique allows one to provide detailed information on the more critical aspects of the study. This in turn makes the study very efficient and also able to provide useful results with recommendations on types of cladding materials being used as well as the maximum allowable reflectivity ratio for the most critical areas. Windtech Consultants have considerable experience in undertaking this type of study.

Welcome to the UK Wind Engineering Society The Wind Engineering Society (WES) is an Associated Society of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) that exists to promote cooperation in the advancement and application of knowledge in all aspects of wind engineering. Wind Engineering is a wide ranging multi-disciplinary subject concerned with the effects of wind on the natural and built environment. Wind Engineers are involved in managing the risks of wind induced hazards, predicting wind loads on structures and predicting the pedestrian level wind environment. They also work to exploit the wind resource for pollutant dispersion, natural ventilation and as a renewable energy. The WES organises regular technical meetings in the UK, publishes a quarterly newsletter and acts as a representative body for wind engineering in the UK. It also organises the biennial UK Wind Engineering conference. The WES is also the UK national delegate to the International and European Associations for Wind Engineering. The WES welcomes all who have an interest in wind engineering, whether in research or in application to design and construction.

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Wind engineering is best defined as the rational treatment of interactions between wind in the atmospheric boundary layer and man and his works on the surface of Earth. The International Association for Wind Engineering (IAWE) promotes international co-operation among scientists, engineers and other professionals for advancement of knowledge in the broad field of wind engineering.