Wind Engineering

Vipac offers industry-leading wind engineering consulting services to determine the wind effects on buildings, structures and the environment.  Vipac partners with architects, planners and developers across Australia to improve the design of buildings and enhance their structural integrity, reliability, comfort and efficiency.


Vipac has open circuit boundary layer wind tunnels, where natural wind is simulated to create environments that range from open country to city centres.  Models of your development and surrounding area, typically at a scale of 1:400, are created at the on-site model and fabrication centre.

Desktop Studies

A desktop study is recommended for smaller projects, structures or façade elements that are not normally responsive to wind tunnel testing. It is also the ideal preliminary step to evaluating building design layouts, identifying potential complications and implementing alterations at the early stages of development, thereby minimising the need for redesign in the near future. The studies are based on experience and empirical research.

Some of the desktop studies we perform:

  • Wind Impact Assessments
  • “Far Field” Dispersion Studies
  • Other analyses based on the Australian Wind Standard AS/NZS 1170.2:2011 for wind loads on buildings and structural responses.

Wind Tunnel Testing

Wind tunnel tests provide information that cannot be obtained from any other analytical, empirical or computational techniques.

Providing the most accurate information, the tests will help you to understand the wide range of wind conditions and directions which can occur around your building development. In turn, the test results will enable you to optimise the shape, surface and protrusion of your development with two major benefits; enhancing safety and comfort and maximising design.

Wind Tunnel Testing will also facilitate:

  • Quick verification of the effectiveness of design modifications for wind control and whether additional dynamic controls, such as damping systems, are required
  • Polar plotting results for single-point data
  • Detailed information on wind speeds at all locations around a development
  • Flow visualisation and omni-directional wind speed sensor measurements

Some of the types of wind tunnel tests we perform:

  • Pedestrian Level Wind Studies
  • Cladding Pressure Mapping
  • Structural Studies/Direct Force Balance Testing
  • Physical modelling for “near field” dispersion studies (up to 1km)

Other Tests, utilising both Wind Tunnel Testing and Desktop Studies

Vipac is also able to assist in the following fields and test types:

  • Design Pressure Analysis
  • Cladding Pressure Mapping
  • Wind Noise Tests
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) assessments, including car park ventilation, atrium fire and smoke behaviour
  • Wind Rain Tests

Building Approval, Design & Construction Services

Getting a new development to run to schedule requires professional expertise of a team that has experience and an understanding of the building and construction industry. We’ve been assisting architects, property developers and builders at every stage of the building process — from approval, to design, to construction. Drawing on the skills and experience of our multidisciplinary team that includes wind engineering, we’re able to provide consulting and testing services for building and design needs. Check out our latest capability statement and how we can assist with your current or next project.

 

Other services Vipac offers that are related to Wind Engineering: