Experimental study on reduction of wind loads on the Shenzhen Kingkey Financial Tower by aerodynamic strategy

Shenzhen Kingkey Financial Tower(KFT) is 439m tall.Wind load plays a key role in the structural design of this building.This paper presented a detailed study of the wind-induced vibration of KFT using a high frequency force balance method.The aerodynamic strategy(or the corridor ventilation) aiming to reduce the wind loads and wind induced response by placing openings on the upper three refuge floors was investigated.The results show that the vortex shedding frequency of 100 year return period(YTP) is still much smaller than the fundamental frequency of the structure at the key azimuth.The aerodynamic strategy can significantly reduce the strength of the shedding vortex and make a reduction of 8.2%-21.2% in peak base bending moment of 100 YTP and 5.3%-16.0% in peak acceleration of 10 YTP at the top of the building if no interference from the upstream buildings is considered.Unfortunately,the existence of Diwang Tower nearby can significantly interfere and dominate the aerodynamic wind loads on KFT at the wind speed of concerned return period and this finally affects the validity of the aerodynamic strategy.However,significant effects of the strategy can still been seen at the critical wind speed when the vortex shedding frequency of KFT coincides with the fundamental frequency of the structure.