Investigation of the effects due to a permeable double skin façade on the overall aerodynamics of a high-rise building

The design of a building is a complex process that encompasses different fields: one of the most relevant is nowadays the energetic one, which has led to the introduction of new typologies of building envelopes. Among them, the Permeable Double Skin Façades (PDSF) are capable to reduce the solar impact and so to improve the energetic performances of the building. However, the aerodynamic characterization of a building with a PDSF is still little investigated in the current literature. The present paper proposes an experimental study to highlight the modifications induced by the outer porous façade in the aerodynamics of a building. A dedicated wind tunnel study is conducted on a rigid model of a prismatic high-rise building, where different façade configurations are tested. Specifically, the single-layer façade is compared to two PDSFs, the former realized with perforated metal and the latter with expanded metal. Outcomes of the tests allow estimating the cladding loads for all the configurations, quantifying the shielding effects ascribable to the porous layers that are translated in a significant reduction of the design pressure that could be up to 50%. Moreover, the impact of the PDSFs on the vortex shedding is investigated, suggesting the capability of the façade to suppress the generation of synchronised vortices and so mitigate the structural response of the building.