• Wind and Structures
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.493-506
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• 2017

Wind-induced response behavior of long-span roof structures is very complicated, showing significant contributions of multiple vibration modes. The largest load effects in a huge number of members should be considered for the sake of the equivalent static wind loads (ESWLs). Studies on essential matters and necessary conditions of the universal ESWLs are discussed. An efficient method for universal ESWLs on long-span roof structures is proposed. The generalized resuming forces including both the external wind loads and inertial forces are defined. Then, the universal ESWLs are given by a combination of eigenmodes calculated by proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) analysis. Firstly, the least squares method is applied to a matrix of eigenmodes by using the influence function. Then, the universal ESWLs distribution is obtained which reproduces the largest load effects simultaneously. Secondly, by choosing the eigenmodes of generalized resuming forces as the basic loading distribution vectors, this method becomes efficient. Meanwhile, by using the constraint equations, the universal ESWLs becomes reasonable. Finally, reproduced largest load effects by load-response-correlation (LRC) ESWLs and universal ESWLs are compared with the actual largest load effects obtained by the time domain response analysis for a long-span roof structure. The results demonstrate the feasibility and usefulness of the proposed universal ESWLs method.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.64 no.4
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• pp.449-459
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• 2017

High-rise buildings are generally sensitive to strong winds. The evaluation of wind loads for the structural design, structural health monitoring (SHM), and vibration control of high-rise buildings is of primary importance. Nevertheless, it is difficult or even infeasible to measure the wind loads on an existing building directly. In this regard, a new inverse method for evaluating wind loads on high-rise buildings is developed in this study based on a discrete-time Kalman filter. The unknown structural responses are identified in conjunction with the wind loads on the basis of limited structural response measurements. The algorithm is applicable for estimating wind loads using different types of wind-induced response. The performance of the method is comprehensively investigated based on wind tunnel testing results of two high-rise buildings with typical external shapes. The stability of the proposed algorithm is evaluated. Furthermore, the effects of crucial factors such as cross-section shapes of building, the wind-induced response type, errors of structural modal parameters, covariance matrix of noise, noise levels in the response measurements and number of vibration modes on the identification accuracy are examined through a detailed parametric study. The research outputs of the proposed study will provide valuable information to enhance our understanding of the effects of wind on high-rise buildings and improve codes of practice.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.951-968
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• 2016

Long-span cross-strait bridges extending into deep-sea waters are exposed to complex marine environments. During the construction stage, the flexible freestanding bridge towers are more vulnerable to environmental loads imposed by wind and wave loads. This paper presents an experimental investigation on the dynamic responses of a 389-m-high freestanding bridge tower model in a test facility with a wind tunnel and a wave flume. An elastic bridge model with a geometric scale of 1:150 was designed based on Froude similarity and was tested under wind-only, wave-only and wind-wave combined conditions. The dynamic responses obtained from the tests indicate that large deformation under resonant sea states could be a structural challenge. The dominant role of the wind loads and the wave loads change according to the sea states. The joint wind and wave loads have complex effects on the dynamic responses of the structure, depending on the approaching direction angle and the fluid-induced vibration mechanisms of the waves and wind.

• Journal of Wind Energy
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.57-67
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• 2023

This study aimed to investigate differences in turbulence intensity and turbine loads among onshore wind farms located in various types of terrain. To achieve this, simulations were conducted for two onshore wind farms with identical wind turbines and capacity but situated on complex and flat terrains. The simulations used meteorological data gathered over a 10-year period from automatic weather stations nearest to the wind farms. WindSim and WindPRO software tools were employed for wind field and load analysis, respectively. The simulation results revealed that wind farm A, situated on complex terrain, exhibited significantly higher effective turbulence intensity than wind farm B on flat terrain, as expected. Consequently, the load indices of several wind turbines exceeded 100 % in wind farm A, indicating that the turbines could not reach their design lifespan. From the simulation study, aimed at reducing both the effective turbulence intensity and turbine loads, it became evident that while increasing turbine spacing could decrease effective turbulence intensity to some extent, it couldn't completely resolve the issue due to the inherently high ambient turbulence intensity on complex terrain. The problem with wind turbine loads could only be completely resolved by using wind turbines with a turbine class of A+, corresponding to a reference turbulence intensity of 0.18.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.215-224
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• 2019

Because of the particularity and complexity of direct air-cooling structures (ACS), wind parameters given in the general load codes are not suitable for the wind-resistant design. In order to investigate the wind loads of ACS, two 1/150 scaled three-span models were designed and fabricated, corresponding to a rigid model and an aero-elastic model, and wind tunnel tests were then carried out. The model used for testing the wind pressure distribution of the ACS was defined as the rigid model in this paper, and the stiffness of which was higher than that of the aero-elastic model. By testing the rigid model, the wind pressure distribution of the ACS model was studied, the shape coefficients of "A" shaped frame and windbreak walls, and the gust factor of the windbreak walls were determined. Through testing the aero-elastic model, the wind-induced dynamic responses of the ACS model was studied, and the wind vibration coefficients of ACS were determined based on the experimental displacement responses. The factors including wind direction angle and rotation of fan were taken into account in this test. The results indicated that the influence of running fans could be ignored in the structural design of ACS, and the wind direction angle had a certain effect on the parameters. Moreover, the shielding effect of windbreak walls induced that wind loads of the "A" shaped frame were all suction. Subsequently, based on the design formula of wind loads in accordance with the Chinese load code, the corresponding parameters were presented as a reference for wind-resistant design and wind load calculation of air-cooling structures.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.27-33
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• 2004

Mechanical load measurements on blade and tower of Vestas 100 kW wind turbine has been reformed in Wollyong test site, Jeju island. The experimental procedure for the measurement of wind turbine loads, such as edgewise(lead-lag) bending moment, flapwise bending moment, and tower base bending moment, has been established. The test facilities consisting of strain-gauges, telemetry and T-Mon system are installed in the wind turbine. Strain gauges are on-site calibrated against load cell prior to monitoring the wind turbine loads. Using the test setup, the loads on the components are being measured and analysed for various external conditions of the wind turbine. A set of results for near rated wind speed has been presented in this paper.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.589-608
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• 2017

A novel probabilistic approach is presented for estimating the equivalent static wind loads that produce a static response of the structure, which is "equivalent" in a probabilistic sense, to the extreme dynamic responses due to the unsteady pressure random field induced by the wind. This approach has especially been developed for complex structures (such as stadium roofs) for which the unsteady pressure field is measured in a boundary layer wind tunnel with a turbulent incident flow. The proposed method deals with the non-Gaussian nature of the unsteady pressure random field and presents a model that yields a good representation of both the quasi-static part and the dynamical part of the structural responses. The proposed approach is experimentally validated with a relatively simple application and is then applied to a stadium roof structure for which experimental measurements of unsteady pressures have been performed in boundary layer wind tunnel.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.321-335
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• 2011

The vulnerability of roofing components of contemporary houses built in cyclonic regions of Australia is assessed for increasing wind speeds. The wind loads and the component strengths are treated as random variables with their probability distributions derived from available data, testing, structural analysis and experience. Design details including types of structural components of houses are obtained from surveying houses and analyzing engineering drawings. Wind load statistics on different areas of the roof are obtained by wind tunnel model studies and compared with Australian/New Zealand Standard, AS/NZS 1170.2. Reliability methods are used for calculating the vulnerability of roofing components independently over the roof. Cladding and batten fixings near the windward gable edge are found to experience larger negative pressures than prescribed in AS/NZS 1170.2, and are most vulnerable to failure.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.129-137
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• 2019

The maximum along-wind displacement of a considerable amount of building under simulated wind loads is computed with the aim to produce a simple prediction model using multiple regression analysis with variables transformation. The Shinozuka and Newmark methods are used to simulate the turbulent wind and to calculate the dynamic response, respectively. In order to evaluate the prediction performance of the regression model with longer degree of determination, two complex structural models were analyzed dynamically. In addition, the prediction model proposed is used to estimate and compare the maximum response of two test buildings studied with wind loads by other authors. Finally, it was proved that the prediction model is reliable to estimate the maximum displacements of structures subjected to the wind loads.

• International journal of steel structures
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.1431-1439
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• 2018

For floating buildings may fl oat on the water for a long time, they are constantly affected by various environmental loads such as wind and wave loads. In this study to find the wave effect on the floating building, five models are designed using steel moment resisting frame. It is assumed that the lower part of the floating building is a reinforced concrete pontoon, while the upper part is a three-story steel frame. To analyze floating buildings affected by wind and wave loads, hydro-dynamic and substructure analysis are performed. As input loads, this study set limits that the mean wind velocity is 35 m/s and the significant wave height is 0.5 m for the residential building. From the hydrodynamic analysis, the time-history acceleration of building is obtained and transformed into a base ground input for a substructure analysis of the superstructure of the building. Finally the mean of the maximum from 30 dynamic analysis of the floating buildings are used to be compared with the results of the same model on the ground. It was shown that the dynamic results with wind and wave loads are not always lesser than the static results which are calculated with static equivalent wind load for a building that is located on the ground.