Abstract
Topographic effects are known to accelerate wind speeds in hilly or mountainous terrains and consequently increase wind-induced damage. Here we describe a heuristic model developed to estimate wind-induced speedups in complex terrain. The model, originally developed for use in Hawaii, was validated using topographic wind speedup data obtained using scale boundary layer wind tunnel experiments performed at the University of Florida. Wind speedup data were produced for 16 wind directions. Speedup data were collected for six-different topographic models covering various portions of Puerto Rico and the surrounding islands. Comparisons of the heuristic model results to the measured speedups produced values ranging between 50% and 65%. The resulting speedup model presented here can be easily used with topographic data for other islands. Estimates of the directional topographic speedups were developed for a 100-m grid encompassing Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The directionally dependent speedups were combined with hurricane wind speed and direction data developed using a 100,000-year simulation of wind speeds and directions to produce estimates of the design wind speeds for ASCE 7-22 including the effects of topographic speedups. These wind speed data were produced using a grid with a resolution of approximately 100 m. The data are used in both ASCE 7-22 and the Puerto Rico building code.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. The design wind speeds, including the effects of topography, are available from https://hazards.atcouncil.org.
Acknowledgments
The work described herein was funded by the US Federal Emergency Management Agency under task Order No. 70FBR2-18-F-00000149. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of FEMA.
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© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Mar 7, 2022
Accepted: Nov 21, 2022
Published online: Jul 25, 2023
Published in print: Oct 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Dec 25, 2023
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