2018 Volume 17 Issue 1 Pages 1-10
Atmospheric pressure changes (APC) due to a tornado may lead to large loads on air-tight buildings, such as nuclear facilities which contain radioactive materials inside. However, each building has several openings for ventilation. Taking into account their pressure equalization effect, the loads can be evaluated more realistically. This study introduces the numerical calculation code “TAIPEC”, based on Bernoulli’s theorem and the state equation of air, which was developed to analyze the inner pressure change and air flow rate through an opening of a building due to a pressure difference caused by APC. It runs on widely available computer software, Microsoft® Excel or Matlab®. TAIPEC was verified by the experimental results from the blow-out test conducted in this study and a wind tunnel test and a simulated tornado test in previous studies. Then, the calculation results are discussed from the standpoint of the Reynolds number. Finally, an example simulation was conducted to show the effect of a blow-out panel on reducing the load on a building.