Inverse Structural Airfoil: a Novel and Effective Tools for Improvement of the Buildings Performance Against Wind Loads

A novel instrument named inverse structural airfoil (ISA) is proposed in order to improve the performance of buildings against wind loads, which reduces wind-induced responses of mid to high-rise buildings. This tool can use for a new structures which are designing for wind load as well as one can use it for rehabilitation of existing buildings. An inverse airfoil is implemented, and so its lift-up force applies in the negative direction and works as lift-down force and this is useful for improvement of structures performance under wind loads and the detrimental effects of wind transfer to helpful effects. In this paper, the procedure that ISA works is explained, and then efficiency of ISA is investigated by using various types of ISA buildings in three wind zones with different wind velocity. Results show when ISA is employed in a structure system, the response of the structures against wind have been improved without any changes in the building configuration and the overall and inter-story drift, uplift forces at foundations, overturning moment of structures are reduced; on the other hand, with this tools, wind will be an effective and positive parameter in order to overcome detrimental effects of itself on the buildings.