Validation of Turbulence Models for Predicting Pressure Coefficients for Natural Ventilation Purposes on an Isolated Low-rise Building

The wind pressure coefficient CP is a key aerodynamic parameter for describing wind-induced pressure fields on building envelopes and is widely used as input in air flow network (AFN) models. In this work, Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) simulations are validated for predicting pressure coefficients on an isolated low-rise hexahedral building. Wind incidence angles of 0°, 15°, 30°, and 45° are analyzed using several turbulence models, including standard, realizable, and RNG k-ϵ, as well as standard and SST k-ω formulations. All simulations are performed in an icositetragon-shaped computational domain using OpenFOAM. Results show that wind incidence angle has a significant influence on both local and wall-averaged CP distributions. Perpendicular inflow produces the expected high positive pressures on the windward wall, whereas oblique inflow generates more complex patterns. Comparisons with experimental data from the TPU database indicate good agreement for wall-averaged CP , while larger discrepancies are observed for local coefficients, particularly near edges. The RNG k-ϵ model exhibits the best overall performance, yielding the smallest deviations in local CP . All models tend to underestimate leeward pressures, reflecting ongoing limitations in modeling separation and reattachment. The resulting dataset provides a reliable reference for future wind-driven ventilation studies.