Flow adjustment and turbulence in staggered high-rise building arrays by wind tunnel measurements and numerical simulations

This study investigates flow and turbulence within two arrays of staggered high-rise buildings. Each array is characterized by a packing density (λp) of 0.25 and a uniform building width B and height H, with H=2B in one array and H=2.67B in the other. Wind tunnel measurements and numerical simulations are performed to evaluate the wind reduction within the arrays, and explore the main mechanisms of rural wind flowing through such idealised arrays and how rural air distributes within them. Results show a quick wind reduction through the arrays. Wind strongly interacts with buildings producing downward motion near the leeward top corner of each building and upward motion near the windward top corner. These vertical flows across the street roof level mostly contribute to the air exchange and ventilation in such staggered arrays. The analysis also shows that increasing the building height does not have critical influence on flow and turbulence at pedestrian level.