The influence of the wind-blocking effect by a building on its wind-driven rain exposure

Abstract

Wind-Driven Rain (WDR) is one of the most important moisture sources that affect the hygrothermal performance and the durability of building facades. The complexity of WDR has led to the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to predict the amount of WDR falling onto building facades. Recently, the CFD model for WDR simulation has been successfully validated for a low-rise building of complex geometry and for a range of rain events, providing confidence for further numerical studies. In this paper, the influence of the wind-blocking effect by a building on its WDR exposure is examined. Part of the latest WDR CFD validation study for the VLIET building and CFD simulations of the WDR distribution on four different single-building configurations are presented. It is shown that the wind-blocking effect is one of the main factors that govern the WDR distribution pattern. As a result, high-rise buildings do not necessarily catch more WDR than low-rise buildings.