Stochastic Assessment of the Influence of Neighboring Buildings on the Drag Force of a Building

Resumo

Urban verticalization has intensified the construction of high-rise buildings in areas with low vertical density, where the presence of adjacent structures can significantly affect wind loads — especially the drag force. This study presents a stochastic evaluation of how neighboring buildings influence the drag force acting on a target structure, based on wind tunnel test data. Drag forces were calculated for five configurations: one isolated and four with varying neighboring arrangements. Statistical descriptors (variance, standard deviation, RMS) and stochastic quantifiers (Hellinger distance, Kullback-Leibler divergence, and perturbation index $\Delta \beta$) were used to assess the differences. The Anderson-Darling test was applied to identify the most suitable probability distribution for each case. Comparative results between two principal wind directions (0° and 90°) highlight the aerodynamic disturbances caused by neighboring buildings, supporting the importance of considering urban context in structural wind load evaluations.