AeroSim

Wind studies for buildings

Residential and corporate towers, where wind governs structure, facade and comfort.

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Consulting services

The wind services a tower usually needs: global loads and dynamic response, facade pressures, pedestrian comfort at ground level, and the basic wind speed of the site.

Wind loads and dynamic analysis

Global forces per floor, plus the response the tower actually has.

What it is

Global static and dynamic wind forces built from the pressure time series of an LES over the whole envelope, integrated floor by floor and coupled to the structural model. It yields the forces and moments for design plus the dynamic response of the tower: modes, peak accelerations per floor and the occupant comfort check.

When you need it

  • The tower is over about 100 m tall, or its slenderness is above six.
  • The standard requires a dynamic analysis and the simplified model in it is too conservative to build to.
  • The plan is not a simple rectangle: setbacks, steps, openings, twisted or tapered forms the tables do not cover.
  • Tall neighbours sit close enough to put the tower in their wake, or to trigger interference galloping.
  • Design accelerations are at the edge of the comfort criterion and you need a defensible number before changing the structure.
  • Steel or concrete in the core is coming out expensive and it is worth checking whether the code load is overstating the wind.

What we deliver

Pressure time series over the full envelope, for every wind direction simulated
Global forces and moments per floor, static and dynamic
Dynamic response coupled to the structural model: modes, frequencies and damping
Peak accelerations per floor, checked against ISO 10137 and the applicable standard
Vortex shedding and wake analysis, including interference from the neighbours

How we do it

  1. 1Model the tower and the surrounding city, then run LES to capture the unsteady loading over time.
  2. 2Extract pressure time series across the envelope and integrate them into forces per floor.
  3. 3Couple the loading to the structural model and solve the dynamic response.
  4. 4Compute peak accelerations per floor and check them against the occupant comfort criteria.

Real project

140 m tower

Global wind loads and dynamic response computed for a 140 m tower from CFD pressure time series - static forces for design plus per-floor accelerations to check occupant comfort, replacing conservative analytical estimates.

140 m

Building height

LES

Simulation fidelity

Per-floor

Accelerations

Facade pressure and optimisation

Position-specific pressures for the envelope, and the shape changes that lower them.

What it is

External pressure coefficients across the whole facade, zone by zone, with the local peak suctions that size the glass and its fixings - computed with the neighbouring skyline and the terrain in the model. The same simulation lets us test shape changes (chamfers, openings, setbacks, balcony geometry) and report how much load each one takes off.

When you need it

  • You are specifying glazing, curtain wall, panels or fixings on a tall tower and the code envelope prices the whole facade for the worst corner.
  • The shape is atypical: curved or twisted facades, recessed balconies, brises, large openings.
  • Close neighbours channel the flow and create suctions the tables do not predict.
  • Dynamic structural forces are too high and you want to know whether a change of form will bring them down.
  • There has been a failure - broken glass, a loose panel - and the real loading has to be understood.
  • The facade consultant needs pressures per zone that a reviewer can check, not one blanket value.

What we deliver

External Cp map over the full envelope, direction by direction
Coefficients tabulated by facade zone, for cladding, glazing and sealing design
Local peak suctions for the fixings, separated from the area-averaged values
Neighbourhood and topography effects included in the digital model
Where asked: shape alternatives compared, with the load reduction each one delivers

How we do it

  1. 1Build the digital model of the tower, its envelope and the surrounding buildings and terrain.
  2. 2Run LES for the wind directions that govern the site.
  3. 3Extract external pressure coefficients over the envelope, separating area averages from local peaks.
  4. 4Deliver the pressures by zone and, where relevant, the comparison between shape alternatives.

Real project

108 m oceanfront tower

External pressure coefficients mapped across the full envelope of a 108 m oceanfront tower, with the neighbouring skyline and coastline included in the digital model - giving the cladding design realistic, position-specific pressures instead of conservative code envelopes.

108 m

Building height

LES

Simulation fidelity

Full envelope

Cp coverage

Pedestrian comfort and safety

Whether the plaza, the entrance and the rooftop will actually be used.

What it is

Wind speed and gusts mapped at pedestrian level, 1.5 m above the ground and above every terrace, then combined with the local wind climate and rated area by area against the international comfort and safety criteria. What comes back is not a velocity field to interpret: it is each area classified for the use it was designed for.

When you need it

  • The tower has a podium, a plaza, a walkway, a pool deck or a rooftop meant for people to sit in.
  • The permitting authority, the client or the development standard asks for a wind comfort study.
  • Entrances and lobbies where a gust across a door makes it hard to open, or unsafe.
  • A tall isolated tower in open ground, where downwash drives high-speed wind down onto its own base.
  • Sales material promises usable leisure areas and someone has to be able to stand behind that.
  • There are already wind complaints on a delivered building on the same site or in the same block.

What we deliver

Wind velocity and gust field at pedestrian level, over the site and the surrounding streets
Comfort and safety rating by area against Lawson / NEN 8100, combined with the local wind climate
Critical zones identified at entrances, plazas, terraces and rooftops
Architectural and landscaping mitigation, tested in the simulation rather than suggested
Before-and-after comparison for the mitigation adopted

How we do it

  1. 1Model the development and its surroundings, including the neighbouring buildings and the ground itself.
  2. 2Run LES for the wind directions and speeds of the local wind climate.
  3. 3Map the wind at pedestrian level and rate each area against the comfort and safety criteria.
  4. 4Flag the critical zones, propose mitigation and re-run the simulation to show it works.

Real project

250 m tower

Pedestrian-level wind assessed around a 250 m tower, mapping comfort and safety across the surrounding streets and public spaces so problem areas could be addressed in design rather than after construction.

250 m

Building height

LES

Simulation fidelity

Street level

Comfort mapping

Basic wind speed (V0)

The speed and the wind climate every other study on the tower starts from.

What it is

The site-specific basic wind speed and the directional wind climate, derived from nearby meteorological station records, treated for anemometer height, roughness and exposure and fitted statistically per return period. On a tower it does double duty: it sets the design load and it supplies the directional distribution the comfort study is rated against.

When you need it

  • The tower is slender enough that the design speed dominates everything downstream of it.
  • The site is coastal or otherwise exposed, where the isopleth map is too coarse to settle the number.
  • You are commissioning a comfort study, which needs the directional wind climate and not just a single speed.
  • Serviceability checks (comfort) and ultimate checks need different return periods.
  • The site falls between isopleths and the reading changes the load on the whole structure.
  • You are about to commission the loads or the facade study and want it to start from the right speed.

What we deliver

Selection and critique of the representative meteorological stations
Treated series, corrected for anemometer height, terrain and exposure
Extreme-value fit and V0 by return period, for serviceability and ultimate checks
Wind rose and directional distribution, ready to feed the comfort study
Comparison against the code isopleth map, with the documented alternatives and our recommendation

How we do it

  1. 1Identify the meteorological stations near the site and check their records for length, gaps and consistency.
  2. 2Treat the series: correct for anemometer height, surrounding roughness and exposure, and homogenise the record.
  3. 3Fit an extreme-value distribution and derive V0 and the directional climate per return period.
  4. 4Report the alternatives against the code map, with the recommendation and everything needed to defend it.
Trusted & validated

Why you can trust our results

We are not a physical wind tunnel - we are a CFD specialist whose results are validated against wind tunnel measurements. AeroSim is an international reference in computational wind engineering.

Journal of Wind Engineering & Industrial Aerodynamics

Peer-reviewed

Published solver

JWEIA, 2026

Validated against wind tunnel
70+ consulting projects across the Americas and Europe
Peer-reviewed, published solver (JWEIA, 2026)
High-fidelity LES simulations
Research PaperTechnical PresentationValidation GuideProjects

Peer-reviewed: Oliveira Jr., W., et al. “Nassu: A high performance LES solver for computational wind engineering”. Journal of Wind Engineering & Industrial Aerodynamics, 274 (2026) 106465.

Is your project neither a warehouse nor a tower?

Talk to us: we also study hangars, ports, canopies and one-off structures.

See the services for warehouses

Have a project in development?

Tell us the geometry and the site, and we will tell you what the wind study needs to cover.

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