26

Wind Effects
Timothy A. Reinhold
Clemson University

26.1 Wind Climate 26.2 Local Wind Exposure 26.3 Mean Wind Speed Prole
Power Law Prole Logarithmic Prole

Ben L. Sill
Clemson University

26.4 Turbulence 26.5 Pressure Coefcients and Load Factors

Wind is one of the two primary sources of lateral forces on land-based buildings and structures; the other is earthquake ground motion. Winds completely engulf the structure and generate complex distributions of pressures and, hence, loads on all exterior surfaces. Most surfaces experience negative pressures or suctions, which tend to pull the building apart. Most roofs also experience negative pressures, which act to lift the roof off of the walls and to pull roong membranes and sheathing from the supporting structure. If the exterior surface contains openings, either because they were designed that way or because a cladding element fails, the interior of the structure can become exposed to some fraction of the external pressure that would have occurred at the opening. Internal pressures can also develop as a result of normal air leakage through the building skin or cladding. Internal pressures tend to be fairly uniform throughout the interior of the building and can signicantly increase the loads on the walls and roof. Wind effects on structures include the direct application of wind-induced forces, movement of the structure, and the ow of the wind around the structure, which may affect pedestrians or the function of the building. Normally, wind effects are grouped according to limit states and safety and serviceability considerations. The selection of structural systems based on their ability to resist wind-induced stresses with appropriate margins of safety is an example of a design for safety or an ultimate limit state. Limiting deections caused by the wind loads to prevent cracking of walls or partitions and limiting the motion of the structure to prevent occupant discomfort are examples of serviceability limit state design. Following the large economic losses suffered in recent hurricanes, there have been increasing calls for protection of the building envelope against water penetration by protecting glazed openings from failure due to direct wind loads or impact loads from wind-borne debris and by reducing the penetration of winddriven rain. The wind effects that should be considered in the design of a particular structure vary depending on the following factors: 1. The wind climate (the expected magnitude and frequency of wind events and consideration of the types of events that is, hurricanes, thunderstorms, tornadoes, and extra-tropical storms). 2. The local wind exposure (siting of the building or structure, including the type of terrain and terrain features surrounding the structure and the inuence of neighboring structures). 3. Pressure coefcients and load factors (coefcients that depend on the exterior shape of the building or structure and factors which relate wind loads to reference wind speeds).

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4. Dynamic effects such as resonance response and aerodynamic instabilities, which can lead to failures or to signicant increases in the dynamic response and loading (these dynamic effects are not covered by normal pressure coefcients and load factors; they depend on the shape of the building or structure and properties such as mass, stiffness, damping, and modes of vibration). Typically, tall, slender structures and long, suspended structures should be evaluated for these possible effects. These include long-span bridges, stacks, towers, buildings with height-to-width ratios greater than ve, and exposed long, exible members of structures. Within the space available, it is possible to present only a brief description of the types of wind effects that should be considered in the design of buildings and structures. Consequently, rather than reproduce a set of codelike requirements, the focus of this chapter is on describing some basic relationships that will help the engineer compare different code approaches to estimating wind loads. There are many different codes available throughout the world that use signicantly different types of reference wind speeds. Often, it is not clear whether the codes will produce similar estimates of design loads if applied to the same structure (indeed, they often do produce signicantly different loads). It is not the intent of this chapter to promote a particular code. The goal is to provide the tools that will allow the engineer to compare code estimates of design loads by using a consistent set of reference wind speeds, regardless of whether the code calls for a mean hourly speed, a ten-minute speed, a one-minute sustained wind speed, a fastest mile wind speed, or a gust wind speed. In addition, the eld of wind engineering remains highly empirical, which means that accurate estimates of wind loads and wind effects often require the conduct of a physical model study. The For Further Information section provides a list of references that can provide additional guidance on when a model study is warranted or desirable.

26.1 Wind Climate

The wind climate encompasses the range of wind events that may occur in a geographical region and the expected frequency and intensity of the event. Types of events include extra-tropical cyclones, thunderstorms, downbursts, microbursts, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Each type of storm has potentially different wind characteristics of importance to buildings and structures, as well as separate occurrence rate and intensity relationships. For most engineering purposes, downbursts, microbursts, and tornadoes are not considered in the establishment of design winds and loads. Thunderstorm winds are frequently buried in the historical data records and, thus, are partially built into the design winds estimated from historical data. Recent work has been conducted to extract thunderstorm winds from the historical data at selected stations. This analysis suggests that it will be important in the future to treat thunderstorms as a separate population of wind events in much the same way that current analysis considers hurricane and tornado events as separate populations for statistical analysis. The current approach to estimating design winds in hurricane-prone regions is to conduct Monte Carlo simulations of the events using statistical information on historical tendencies of hurricanes in the area. The probabilities of experiencing hurricane winds in coastal areas are then developed from the statistics produced from the simulation of thousands of years of storms. These occurrence probabilities are then combined with probabilities for nonhurricane events to estimate design winds for various return periods ranging from 10 to 100 years. This type of analysis has been used to produce design wind speed maps for the continental U.S.; the latest edition of ASCE-7 Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Structures contains the most recent map, which is generally adopted by model building codes in the U.S. This type of systematic analysis of hurricane and nonhurricane winds has not been conducted for the Hawaiian Islands or most of the rest of the world. Consequently, in hurricane-prone regions, the designer should endeavor to determine the source of the estimates for design wind speeds and the basis for the estimates. In some instances, it will be necessary to contract with a group experienced in hurricane simulations in order to produce reasonable estimates of design wind speeds.

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In areas where hurricanes are not expected which normally includes areas 100 miles inland from a hurricane coastline a series of annual extreme wind speeds can be used to estimate the design wind speed for a specic return period using the following equation [Simiu, 1985], where it is assumed that the extreme wind climate follows a Type I extreme value distribution: UN = Uavg + 0.78sN(ln N - 0.577) (26.1)

where UN is the design wind speed for a return period of N years, Uavg is the average of the annual extreme wind speeds, and sN is the standard deviation of the annual extreme wind speeds. It should be noted that the number of years of record greatly affects the reliability of the design wind speed estimate [Simiu, 1985]. Note also that an averaging time has not been specied in this discussion. The emphasis is placed on the wind speeds being extreme annual values that must all correspond to the same averaging time, regardless of whether it is a mean hourly, 10-min mean, or shorter-duration averaging time. These maximum speeds must also correspond to a consistent set of terrain conditions and a consistent elevation. The U.S. codes currently use a fastest mile wind speed at a height of 10 m in open terrain as the reference design wind speed and reference conditions. This type of measurement has a variable averaging time since it corresponds to the time required for one mile of wind to pass a location. Thus, any calculation of a fastest mile wind speed requires iteration. The averaging time for the fastest mile wind speed is calculated by: t = 3600/ UFM (26.2)

where t is given in seconds and UFM is the fastest mile wind speed expressed in miles per hour. Other countries use similar terrain conditions and usually specify a 10 m elevation but use a wide variety of averaging times ranging from mean hourly (Canada) to peak gust (Australia), which is normally assumed to correspond to a 2- to 3-sec averaging time. The following section provides relationships for converting maximum wind speeds from one averaging time, terrain exposure, and elevation to maximum wind speeds for a different averaging time, terrain, and elevation. These equations provide a means for converting a design wind speed in an unfamiliar code to one that can be used in a code with which the designer is more familiar, if the reference conditions for the two codes are different.

26.2 Local Wind Exposure

As wind moves over the surface of the earth, the roughness of trees, buildings, and other features reduces the wind speed and creates the atmospheric boundary layer. The greatest reduction occurs close to the ground, with reduced effects at greater heights. There is, in fact, a height known as the gradient height at which the wind is not affected by the surface characteristics. For engineering purposes, the gradient height is generally assumed to be between 300 and 600 m, depending on the terrain. Surface roughness also affects the air ow by creating turbulent eddies (or gusts), which can have a signicant effect on buildings. The gusty nature of wind is random and is analyzed using statistical approaches.

26.3 Mean Wind Speed Prole

No single analytical expression perfectly describes the mean wind speed variation with height in the atmospheric boundary layer. The two used most often are the power law prole and the logarithmic prole. The logarithmic prole is the most widely accepted, although both can give adequate descriptions of the wind speed. Each is described below, and sufcient information is given to (a) allow transfer from one prole to the other, (b) effectively convert maximum speeds in one terrain to those in another, and (c) convert from one averaging time to another.

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TABLE 26.1 Parameters Used in Mean Velocity Prole Relations

Terrain Coastal Open Suburbs Dense suburbs City center a 0.1 0.14 0.22 0.26 0.33 zg (m) 230 275 375 400 500 z0 (m) 0.005 0.07 0.3 1 2.5 p 0.83 1 1.15 1.33 1.46 b 6.5 6 5.25 4.85 4

Power Law Prole

Taking z as the elevation, U as the wind speed (with the bar indicating a mean hourly value), and g as conditions at the gradient height, this prole is written as U (z ) z = Ug zg
a

(26.3)

Table 26.1 provides estimates for the gradient height and power law exponent for different terrains.

Logarithmic Prole
This expression for the variation of mean wind speed with height utilizes an aerodynamic roughness length, z0, and a shear velocity, u*, which is a measure of the surface drag: U (z ) = u* z ln k z0 (26.4)

Here, k is von Karmans constant and is usually taken as 0.4. For rough surfaces, such as dense suburban and urban conditions, a displacement height, d, should be included in Equation (26.4) by replacing z with z d. For z values substantially greater than d, the correction is negligible. Writing the log law at two heights for two different terrain roughnesses (one of which is open country) and taking the ratio gives U (z 1 ) U (z 2 )open ln(z 1 / z 0 ) ln(z 2 / z 0 )open

=p

(26.5)

where p is the ratio of the shear velocities for the two different terrain conditions. Table 26.1 gives a summary of the parameters needed to use the proles.

26.4 Turbulence
The wind speed can be divided into two parts a mean or time-averaged part, U , and a uctuating or time varying part, u. The long-term properties of the uctuating part can be described by the variance or standard deviation, su. The maximum wind speed for any averaging time, t, can be obtained by adjusting the hourly (3600 sec) average as U t (z ) = U 3600(z ) + C(t )s u (z ) (26.6)

where the coefcient C(t) is given in Table 26.2. The values of C(t) for extra-tropical winds were obtained by Simiu [1981], while the values of C(t) for hurricane winds reect recent research that suggests that hurricane winds contain larger uctuations than extra-tropical strong winds [Krayer, 1992].
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TABLE 26.2 Gust Factors for Use in Calculating Maximum Wind Speeds from Mean Speeds
Conditions Hurricane winds Extra-tropical winds Time (sec) C ( t) C ( t) 1 4 3 3 3.62 2.86 10 3.06 2.32 30 2.23 1.73 60 1.75 1.28 600 0.43 0.36 3600 0 0

TABLE 26.3 Example Conversions of Maximum Speeds for Different Conditions

E Iteration #1 Open 10 90 40b 1.58 Suburb 10 90c 40b 0.3 1.58 5.25 1.15 0.88 E Iteration #2

Example Terrain 2 z (m) u (mph)a t (sec) C ( t) Terrain 1 z (m) u (mph)a t (sec) z0 (m) C ( t) p U t 1 (z 1 ) / U t 2 (z 2 )
a b

A Open 10 60 1.28 Coast 10 3 0.005 2.86 6.5 0.82 1.39

B Open 10 3600 0 Suburb 10 3600 0.3 0 5.25 1.15 0.81

C Open 10 60 1.28 Open 100 60 0.07 1.58 6 1 1.42

D Open 10 3600 0 Open 10 90 40b 0.07 1.58 6 1 1.31

F Open 10 3 2.86 Suburb 10 90 40 0.3 1.58 5.25 1.15 0.56

G Open 10 90 40 1.58 Open 10 3 0.07 2.86 6 1 1.19

79 46 1.49

0.86

Wind speed in fastest mile. Averging time calculated from 3600/UFM. c Initial guess of fastest mile speed for the rst iteration selected as open country value. In the second iteration, the 79 mph value was calculated from 90 mph multiplied by the velocity ratio of 0.88.

To convert maximum wind speeds between open terrain conditions for any averaging time and elevation and another set of conditions (i.e., variations in terrain, averaging time, or elevation), the following combination of the above expressions can be used: U t1 ( z 1 ) U t 2 (z 2 )open ln(z 1 / z 0 ) + 0.4 b C(t 1 ) = p ln(z 2 / z 0 )open + 0.98C(t 2 )open

(26.7)

The examples in Table 26.3 serve to illustrate the use of this expression. The rst line indicates the example case, the second through fth rows describe the open terrain wind characteristics, the sixth through thirteenth rows describe the second terrain wind characteristics, and the last row gives the ratio of maximum speeds for the stated conditions and averaging times.

26.5 Pressure Coefcients and Load Factors

Pressure coefcients and load factors, such as terrain exposure factors and gust factors, are available in building codes. These factors must be consistent with the type of reference wind used in the code. Local cladding pressures in modern codes are signicantly higher than those found in earlier codes because of the improved understanding of uctuating loads on structures. Except in areas of positive mean pressures (the windward wall), there is no direct correlation between the local pressure and the occurrence of gusts in the approaching wind.
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Dening Terms
Atmospheric boundary layer The lower part of the atmosphere where the wind ow is affected by the earths surface. Cladding Parts of the exterior building surface that keep out the weather but are generally not considered part of the structural system, although they do transfer loads to the structural system. Extra-tropical cyclones Large-scale low-pressure systems that control most of the severe weather conditions and extreme winds in temperate regions.

References
Simiu, E. 1981. Modern developments in wind engineering: Part 1. J. Eng. Struct. 3:233241. Simiu, E. and Scanlan, R. H. 1985. Wind Effects on Structures, 2nd ed. John Wiley & Sons, New York. Krayer, W. R. and Marshall, R. D. 1992. Gust factors applied to hurricane winds. Bull. AMS. 73.

Further Information
Information on types of physical model studies commonly performed can be obtained from Wind Tunnel Modeling for Civil Engineering Applications, Cambridge University Press, 1982, and ASCE Manual and Reports on Engineering Practice No. 67, Wind Tunnel Model Studies of Buildings and Structures, American Society of Civil Engineers, New York, 1987. In addition to the references by Simiu listed above, a good general book on wind engineering is The Designers Guide to Wind Loading of Building Structures by Cook (Butterworths, 1985). General articles, including a number of conference proceedings, are published in the Journal of Industrial Aerodynamics and Wind Engineering.

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