Interference excitation of twin tall buildings

The enhanced dynamic response of a tall square building under interference excitation from neighbouring tall buildings has been studied in a series of wind-tunnel model tests. In a low-turbulence wind environment and under normal strong wind conditions, the dynamic loads on the upstream of an identical pair of tall buildings may increase by a factor of up to 4.4. The dynamic loads on the downstream building of the pair may increase by a factor of up to 3.2 due to “resonant buffeting”. Measurements of along-wind and cross-wind force spectra and a number of wake spectra provide an explanation for the observed behaviour. Possible excitation mechanisms are discussed and critical building arrangements presented. The large interference loads found in this study indicate that interference excitation should be carefully considered in the design of tall buildings.