With the rapid development of urbanization, the number of high-rise buildings has increased rapidly. In areas prone to typhoons and hurricanes, the sensitivity of buildings to wind and the impact of wind loads have become key factors in design and safety assessment. Due to their height and structural flexibility, high-rise buildings often experience significant wind loads under strong winds or extreme weather conditions, leading to structural vibration, deformation, and even damage. To ensure the safety and comfort of these buildings under wind conditions, in-depth research into the wind effects on buildings is essential. Wind tunnel pressure measurement, as a key means of assessing the wind pressure distribution on building surfaces and its interaction with the surrounding flow field, provides crucial data support for wind-resistant structural design. A high-precision pressure measurement system is the core of the entire experiment.
A complete wind tunnel pressure measurement system typically includes a scaled-down model of the building, boundary layer wind field simulation equipment, pressure sensing devices, and a data acquisition and synchronization control unit. Numerous pressure measurement points are arranged on the model surface, and wind pressure signals are transmitted to sensors through pressure conduits, then converted into analyzable electronic signals by the data acquisition system. However, as research demands increasing data synchronization and accuracy, traditional single-point or time-sharing measurements are no longer sufficient to meet the needs of correlation analysis between unsteady wind pressure and transient flow fields. It is against this backdrop that the pressure scanning valve, as a key device for multi-channel, high-precision pressure measurement, possesses irreplaceable technological value.
The pressure scanner is a specialized measurement instrument that integrates multiple pressure sensors with a data acquisition module. Represented by KETU&TEST’s KTPS-16A Pressure Scanner, it features high accuracy of ±0.05% FS and a high sampling rate of up to 0–10 kHz. Its excellent channel consistency and low phase difference characteristics make it suitable for synchronously acquiring dynamic wind pressure signals from hundreds of measurement points on building model surfaces.
The working process involves transmitting pressure signals from the model’s surface pressure taps through tubing to the internal sensor array of the pressure scanner. The signals are then processed internally through data acquisition, signal conditioning, and analog-to-digital conversion modules, and finally output as actual pressure data.
The KTPS-16A Pressure Scanner, when used in conjunction with the Ketusoft acquisition software, forms a complete wind pressure measurement system for high-rise building wind tunnel tests. In addition, it can be synchronously triggered with other measurement devices, such as velocity sensors and accelerometers, to realize a multi-physics measurement system for wind pressure, flow field, and structural response, thereby revealing the intrinsic mechanisms of wind–building interactions.
In conclusion, the pressure scanning valve, as a core device for achieving high-precision, multi-channel synchronous wind pressure measurement in wind tunnel tests, has greatly promoted in-depth research on wind loads and wind-induced responses in high-rise buildings. It is believed that with the continuous advancement of sensor technology and signal processing methods, the pressure scanning valve will play an even more crucial role in future wind engineering research.