Bushfire-enhanced wind load on structures Available to Purchase

The association of bushfires with wind has long been recognised, but the mechanism of this interaction has not received due attention. In the current study, a computational fluid dynamics approach was used to reveal the impact of fire-enhanced wind on low-rise building structures. This paper presents the results of a numerical study on bushfire, wind and structure interactions. The fire-enhanced wind was found to significantly distort the wind velocity profile and enhance turbulence properties, and alter the pressure coefficient distributions around a simple building structure represented by a 6 m cube. In particular, the simulated results revealed a significant increase in windward wall pressure coefficient due to the presence of a fire source upstream compared to that without fire. These findings are expected to have a significant impact on the development of improved design practice for the protection of buildings from fire-induced wind storms.