• Wind and Structures
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.1-23
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• 2015

Wind tunnel testing of a low-rise building with openings (holes) of different sizes and shapes on a roof corner is conducted to measure the internal and external pressures from the building model. Detailed analysis of the testing data is carried out to investigate the characteristics of the internal and external pressures of the building with different openings' configurations. Superimposition of the internal and external pressures makes the emergence of positive net pressures on the roof. The internal pressures demonstrate an overall uniform distribution. The probability density function (PDF) of the internal pressures is close to the Gaussian distribution. Compared with the PDF of the external pressures, the non-Gaussian characteristics of the net pressures weakened. The internal pressures exhibit strong correlation in frequency domain. There appear two humps in the spectra of the internal pressures, which correspond to the Helmholtz frequency and vortex shedding frequency, respectively. But, the peak for the vortex shedding frequency is offset for the net pressures. Furthermore, the internal pressure characteristics indirectly reflect that the length of the front edge enhances the development of the conical vortices.The objective of this study aims to further understanding of the characteristics of internal, external and net pressures for low-rise buildings in an effort to reduce wind damages to residential buildings.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.333-344
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• 2004

This paper illustrates application of the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) and the autoregressive (AR) model to simulate large wind pressures due to gusts on a low-rise building. In the POD analysis, the covariance of the ensemble of large wind pressures is employed to calculate the principal modes and coordinates. The POD principal coordinates are modeled using the AR process, and the fitted AR models are employed to generate the principal coordinates. The generated principal coordinates are then used to simulate large wind pressures. The results show that the structure characterizing large wind pressures is well represented by the dominant eigenmodes (up to the first fifteen eigenmodes). Also, wind pressures with large peak values are simulated very well using the dominant eigenmodes along with the principal coordinates generated by the AR models.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.211-227
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• 2023

To investigate the non-Gaussian feature of fluctuating wind pressures on rectangular high-rise buildings, wind tunnel tests were conducted on scale models with side ratios ranging from 1/9~9 in an open exposure for various wind directions. The high-order statistical moments, time histories, probability density distributions, and peak factors of pressure fluctuations are analyzed. The mixed normal-Weibull distribution, Gumbel-Weibull distribution, and lognormal-Weibull distribution are adopted to fit the probability density distribution of different non-Gaussian wind pressures. Zones of Gaussian and non-Gaussian are classified for rectangular buildings with various side ratios. The results indicate that on the side wall, the non-Gaussian wind pressures are related to the distance from the leading edge. Apart from the non-Gaussianity in the separated flow regions noted by some literature, wind pressures behind the area where reattachment happens present non-Gaussian nature as well. There is a new probability density distribution type of non-Gaussian wind pressure which has both long positive and negative tail found behind the reattachment regions. The correlation coefficient of wind pressures is proved to reflect the non-Gaussianity and a new method to estimate the mean reattachment length of rectangular high-rise building side wall is proposed by evaluating the correlation coefficient. For rectangular high-rise buildings, the mean reattachment length calculated by the correlation coefficient method along the height changes in a parabolic shape. Distributions of Gaussian and non-Gaussian wind pressures vary with side ratios. It is inappropriate to estimate the extreme loads of wind pressures using a fixed peak factor. The trend of the peak factor with side ratios on different walls is given.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.559-573
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• 2020

This paper presents a study on the effectiveness of the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) technique for reconstruction of wind pressure field as applied to a cylindrical shell roof based on simultaneously measured wind pressure data. The influence of wind loading mode truncation on the statistics of dynamic pressures and wind load effects are investigated. The results showed that truncation of higher wind loading modes can have more noticeable influence on the maximum and minimum pressures that the standard derivation (STD) values. The truncation primarily affects the high-frequency content of the pressures. Estimation of background response using wind loading modes is more effective than the use of traditional structural modal analysis.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.105-114
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• 2021

This paper describes a wind tunnel test on a 1:25 scale model of TTU building with several adjustable openings in order to comprehensively study the characteristics of fluctuating internal pressures, especially the phenomenon of the increase in fluctuating internal pressures induced by tangential flow over building openings and the mechanism causing that. The effects of several factors, such as wind angle, turbulence intensity, opening location, opening size, opening shape and background porosity on the fluctuating internal pressures at oblique wind angles are also described. It has been found that there is a large increase in the fluctuating internal pressures at certain oblique wind angles (typically around 60° to 80°). These fluctuations are greater than those produced by the flow normal to the opening when the turbulence intensity is low. It is demonstrated that the internal pressure resonances induced by the external pressure fluctuations emanating from flapping shear layers on the sidewall downstream of the windward corner are responsible for the increase in the fluctuating internal pressures. Furthermore, the test results show that apart from the opening shape, all the other factors influence the fluctuating internal pressures and the internal pressure resonances at oblique wind angles to varying degrees.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.131-146
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• 2001

A full-scale synchronized data acquisition system was set up on the roof of the experimental building at the Texas Tech University Wind Engineering Research Field Laboratory to simultaneously collect approaching wind data, conical vortex images, and roof corner suction pressure data. One-second conditional sampling technique has been applied in the data analysis, which makes it possible to separately evaluate the influencing effects of the horizontal wind angle of attack, ${\theta}$, and the vertical wind angle of attack, ${\varphi}$. Results show a clear cause-and-effect relationship between the incident wind, conical vortices, and the induced roof-corner high-suction pressures. The horizontal wind angle of attack, ${\theta}$, is shown to be the most significant factor in influencing the overall vortex structure and the suction pressures beneath. It is further revealed that the vertical wind angle of attack, ${\varphi}$, plays a critical role in generating the instantaneous peak suction pressures near the roof corner.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.283-290
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• 2019

Corner cut, corner chamfered or a building shape change are adopted in the design of tall buildings to achieve aerodynamic superiority as well as response reduction. Kikuchi et.al pointed out that large negative peak external pressures can appear near the inside corner of set-back low rise buildings. It is therefore necessary to pay attention to facade design around steps in building surfaces. Peak wind pressures for corner cut or corner chamfered configurations are given in the AIJ code. However, they cannot be applied where there are many variations of vertical and horizontal steps. There has been no previous systematic research on peak wind pressures around steps in building surfaces. In this study, detailed phenomenon of peak wind pressures around steps in buildings are investigated focusing on vertical and horizontal distances from the building's corner.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.325-342
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• 2005

This paper deals with the buckling behavior of thin-walled aboveground tanks under wind load. In order to do that, the wind pressures are obtained by means of wind-tunnel experiments, while the structural non linear response is computed by means of a finite element discretization of the tank. Wind-tunnel models were constructed and tested to evaluate group effects in tandem configurations, i.e. one or two tanks shielding an instrumented tank. Pressures on the roof and on the cylindrical part were measured by pressure taps. The geometry of the target tank is similar in relative dimensions to typical tanks found in oil storage facilities, and several group configurations were tested with blocking tanks of different sizes and different separation between the target tank and those blocking it. The experimental results show changes in the pressure distributions around the circumference of the tank for half diameter spacing, with respect to an isolated tank with similar dimensions. Moreover, when the front tank of the tandem array has a height smaller than the target tank, increments in the windward pressures were measured. From the computational analysis, it seems that the additional stiffness provided by the roof prevents reductions in the buckling load for cases even when increments in pressures develop in the top region of the cylinder.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.469-488
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• 2015

A full-scale instrumented low-rise building with gable roof was built at a coastal site with a high incidence of tropical cyclones for monitoring of wind effects on the building during windstorms. This paper presents the field measurements of the wind velocity field around and the wind-induced pressures on the low-rise building during the passage of severe tropical storm Soudelor. Near-ground wind characteristics such as wind speed, wind direction, turbulence intensity, gust factor, turbulence integral length scale and wind velocity spectra were investigated. The wind-induced pressures on the roof of the building were analyzed and discussed. The results revealed that the eave and ridge edges on the roof were subjected to the most severe suction pressures under quartering winds. These suction pressures showed obvious non-Gaussian behavior. The measured results were compared with the provisions of ASCE 7-10 to assess the suitability of the code of practice for the wind-resistant design of low-rise buildings under tropical cyclones. The field study aims to provide useful information that can enhance our understanding of the extreme wind effects on low-rise buildings in an effort to reduce tropical cyclone wind damages to residential buildings.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2007.04a
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• pp.739-744
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• 2007

Wind loads for cladding can be estimated using the maximum wind pressure including gust effects from wind-tunnel tests. However, when estimating the maximum wind pressure with gust effects, wind pressure coefficients for cladding would be different according to the averaging time of wind pressures, In the paper, for wind pressures obtained from wind-tunnel tests for apartment buildings, whose window panes were damaged by actual strong wind, it was investigated how pressure coefficients varied according to the size of cladding and averaging time using TVL method of Lawson. In result, it was found that the lesser the size of cladding and averaging time were, the larger pressure coefficients became. Accordingly, to estimate wind loads for cladding of apartment buildings and design it, the averaging time of wind pressures should be considered properly.