• Wind and Structures
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.457-471
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• 2014

A summary of the main results from an international comparative study for the high-frequency base balance is given. Two buildings were specified - a 'basic' and an 'advanced' building. The latter had more complex dynamic response with coupled modes of vibration. The predicted base moments generally showed good agreement amongst the participating groups, but less good agreement was found for the roof accelerations which are dominated by the resonant response, and subject to measurement errors for the generalized force spectra, to varying mode shape correction techniques, and different methods used for combining acceleration components.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.323-345
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• 2014

Less than 30 years ago a new method was introduced in wind-tunnel testing of tall buildings, known variously as the High-Frequency Base Balance or High-Frequency Force Balance, which revolutionized the determination of design wind loads using model studies. The method is reviewed in hindsight, in the perspective of the present, and with a crystal ball to speculate on future developments. These viewpoints focus on various technical issues that have been solved, are being solved, and need to be solved. The intent is to assist the uninitiated develop appreciation for the technology involved, to identify various pitfalls awaiting those who embark in the method, and to identify areas of need so that practicing design engineers-the users of such studies-can appreciate the limitations and collaborate on future advances while promoting improved communication between executor and user.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.391-422
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• 2014

The high frequency force balance (HFFB) technique provides convenient measurements of integrated forces on rigid building models in terms of base bending moments and torque and/or base shear forces. These base moments or forces are then used to approximately estimate the generalized forces of building fundamental modes with mode shape corrections. This paper presents an analysis framework for coupled dynamic response of tall buildings with HFFB technique. The empirical mode shape corrections for generalized forces with coupled mode shapes are validated using measurements of synchronous pressures on a square building surface from a wind tunnel. An alternative approach for estimating the mean and background response components directly using HFFB measurements without mode shape corrections is introduced with a discussion on higher mode contributions. The uncertainty in the mode shape corrections and its influence on predicted responses of buildings with both uncoupled and coupled modal shapes are examined. Furthermore, this paper presents a comparison of aerodynamic base moment spectra with available data sets for various tall building configurations. Finally, e-technology aspects in conjunction with HFFB technique such as web-based on-line analysis framework for buildings with uncoupled mode shapes used in NALD (NatHaz Aerodynamic Loads Database) is discussed, which facilitates the use of HFFB data for preliminary design stages of tall buildings subject to wind loads.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.443-456
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• 2014

A popular modern architectural form for tall buildings is two (or more) towers which are structurally linked through such features as a shared podium or sky-bridges. The fundamental features of the wind loading and the structural links of such buildings can be studied by measuring load components on the individual unlinked towers along with their correlations. This paper describes application of dual high frequency force balance (DHFFB) in a wind tunnel study of the base wind loading exerted on generic tall twin buildings in close proximity. Light models of two identical generic tall buildings of square plan were mounted on DHFFB and the base wind loading exerted on the buildings was simultaneously acquired. The effects of the relative positions of the buildings on the correlations and coherences involving loading components on each building and on the two buildings were investigated. For some relative positions, the effects of the building proximity on the wind loading were significant and the loading was markedly different from that exerted on single buildings. In addition, the correlations between the loadings on the two buildings were high. These effects have potential to significantly impact, for example, the modally-coupled resonant responses of the buildings to the aerodynamic excitations. The presented results were not meant to be recommended for direct application in wind resistant design of tall twin buildings. They were intended to show that wind loading on tall buildings in close proximity is significantly different from that on single buildings and that it can be conveniently mapped using DHFFB.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.257-269
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• 2013

This study presents the development of an advanced multiple database-enabled design module for high-rise buildings (DEDM-HR), which seamlessly pools databases of multiple high frequency base balance measurements from geographically dispersed locations and merges them together to expand the number of available building configurations for the preliminary design. This feature offers a new direction for the research and professional communities that can be utilized to efficiently pool multiple databases therefore expanding the capability of an individual database and improving the reliability of design estimates. This is demonstrated, in this study, by the unprecedented fusion of two major established databases, which facilitates interoperability. The DEDM-HR employs a cyberbased on-line framework designed with user-friendly/intuitive web interfaces for the convenient estimation of wind-induced responses in the alongwind, acrosswind and torsional directions with minimal user input. In addition, the DEDM-HR embeds a novel feature that allows the use of wind characteristics defined in a code/standard to be used in conjunction with the database. This supplements the provisions of a specific code/standard as in many cases guidance on the acrosswind and torsional response estimates is lacking. Through an example, results from several international codes and standards and the DEDM-HR with the embedded features are compared. This provision enhances the scope of the DEDM-HR in providing an alternative design tool with nested general provisions of various international codes and standards.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.145-169
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• 2017

The auxiliary structures of a high-rise building, such as balconies, ribs, and grids, are usually much smaller than the whole building; therefore, it is difficult to simulate them on a scaled model during wind tunnel tests, and they are often ignored. However, they may have notable effects on the local or overall wind loads of the building. In the present study, a series of wind pressure wind tunnel tests and high-frequency force balance (HFFB) wind tunnel tests were conducted on rigid models of an actual super high-rise building with vertical ribs protruding from its facades. The effects of the depth and spacing of vertical ribs on the mean values, fluctuating values and the most unfavorable values of the local wind pressure coefficients were investigated by analyzing the distribution of wind pressure coefficients on the facades and the variations of the wind pressure coefficients at the cross section at 2/3 of the building height versus wind direction angle. In addition, the effects of the depth and spacing of vertical ribs on the mean values, fluctuating values and power spectra of the overall aerodynamic force coefficients were studied by analyzing the aerodynamic base moment coefficients. The results show that vertical ribs significantly decrease the most unfavorable suction coefficients in the corner recession regions and edge regions of facades and increase the mean and fluctuating along-wind overall aerodynamic forces.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.367-379
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• 2024

Compared with traditional transmission towers, T-shaped angle towers have long cross-arms and are specially used for ultrahigh-voltage direct-current (UHVDC) transmission. Nevertheless, the wind loads of T-shaped towers have not received much attention in previous studies. Consequently, a series of wind tunnel tests on the T-shaped towers featuring cross-arms of varying lengths were conducted using the high-frequency force balance (HFFB) technique. The test results reveal that the T-shaped tower's drag coefficients nearly remain constant at different testing velocities, demonstrating that Reynolds number effects are negligible in the test range of 1.26 × 10⁴-2.30 × 10⁴. The maximum values of the longitudinal base shear and torsion of the T-shaped tower are reached at 15° and 25° of wind incidence, respectively. In the yaw angle, the crosswind coefficients of the tower body are quite small, whereas those of the cross-arms are significant, and as a result, the assumption in some load codes (such as ASCE 74-2020, IEC 60826-2017 and EN 50341-1:2012) that the resultant force direction is the same as the wind direction may be inappropriate for the cross-arm situation. The fitting formulas for the wind load-distribution factors of the tower body and cross-arms are developed, respectively, which would greatly facilitate the determination of the wind loads on T-shaped angle towers.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.471-485
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• 2021

Onshore wind turbines may experience substantially different wind loads depending on their working conditions, i.e. rotation velocity of rotor blades, incoming freestream wind velocity, pitch angle of rotor blades, and yaw angle of the wind-turbine tower. In the present study, aerodynamic loads acting on a horizontal axis wind turbine were accordingly quantified for the high tip speed ratio (TSR) at high yaw angles because these conditions have previously not been adequately addressed. This was analyzed experimentally on a small-scale wind-turbine model in a boundary layer wind tunnel. The wind-tunnel simulation of the neutrally stratified atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) developing above a flat terrain was generated using the Counihan approach. The ABL was simulated to achieve the conditions of a wind-turbine model operating in similar inflow conditions to those of a prototype wind turbine situated in the lower atmosphere, which is another important aspect of the present work. The ABL and wind-turbine simulation length scale factors were the same (S=300) in order to satisfy the Jensen similarity criterion. Aerodynamic loads experienced by the wind-turbine model subjected to the ABL simulation were studied based on the high frequency force balance (HFFB) measurements. Emphasis was put on the thrust force and the bending moment because these two load components have previously proven to be dominant compared to other load components. The results indicate several important findings. The loads were substantially higher for TSR=10 compared to TSR=5.6. In these conditions, a considerable load reduction was achieved by pitching the rotor blades. For the blade pitch angle at 90°, the loads were ten times lower than the loads of the rotating wind-turbine model. For the blade pitch angle at 12°, the loads were at 50% of the rotating wind-turbine model. The loads were reduced by up to 40% through the yawing of the wind-turbine model, which was observed both for the rotating and the parked wind-turbine model.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.423-441
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• 2014

The high frequency base balance (HFBB) technique is a convenient and relatively fast wind tunnel testing technique for predicting wind-induced forces for tall building design. While modern tall building design has seen a number architecturally remarkable buildings constructed recently, the characteristics of those buildings are significantly different to those that were common when the HFBB technique was originally developed. In particular, the prediction of generalized forces for buildings with 3-dimensional mode shapes has a number of inherent uncertainties and challenges that need to be overcome to accurately predict building loads and responses. As an alternative to the more conventional application of general mode shape correction factors, an analysis methodology, referred to as the linear-mode-shape (LMS) method, has been recently developed to allow better estimates of the generalized forces by establishing a new set of centers at which the translational mode shapes are linear. The LMS method was initially evaluated and compared with the methods using mode shape correction factors for a rectangular building, which was wind tunnel tested in isolation in an open terrain for five incident wind angles at $22.5^{\circ}$ increments from $0^{\circ}$ to $90^{\circ}$. The results demonstrated that the LMS method provides more accurate predictions of the wind-induced loads and building responses than the application of mode shape correction factors. The LMS method was subsequently applied to a tall building project in Hong Kong. The building considered in the current study is located in a heavily developed business district and surrounded by tall buildings and mixed terrain. The HFBB results validated the versatility of the LMS method for the structural design of an actual tall building subjected to the varied wind characteristics caused by the surroundings. In comparison, the application of mode shape correction factors in the HFBB analysis did not directly take into account the influence of the site specific characteristics on the actual wind loads, hence their estimates of the building responses have a higher variability.