Equivalent Static Wind Loads for Tall Building Design

Certain shortcomings of current procedures for computing alongwind structural response have been shown to result in unrealistic estimates of tall building behavior under the action of strong winds. Differences between predictions of fluctuating response based on various such procedures have been shown to be in certain cases as high as 200%. The purpose of the present work is to present a procedure for calculating alongwind response, including deflections and accelerations, which incorporates these advances. The meteorological and aerodynamic models on which the procedure is based are described in brief. The practical use of the procedure is illustrated in a numerical example. Estimates are provided of errors inherent in the models employed. The range of applicability of the procedure is defined, and it is indicated that for structures with unusual modal shapes or for which the influence of higher vibration modes is significant, a recently developed computer program should be employed in lieu of the procedure presented herein.