Non-stationary Buffeting Response Analysis of Long Span Suspension Bridge Under Strong Wind Loading

The non-stationary buffeting response of long span suspension bridge in time domain under strong wind loading is computed. Modeling method for generating non-stationary fluctuating winds with probabilistic model for non-stationary strong wind fields is first presented. Non-stationary wind forces induced by strong winds on bridge deck and tower are then given a brief introduction. Finally,Non-stationary buffeting response of Pulite Bridge in China,a long span suspension bridge,is computed by using ANSYS software under four working conditions with different combination of time-varying mean wind and time-varying variance. The case study further confirms that it is necessity of considering non-stationary buffeting response for long span suspension bridge under strong wind loading,rather than only stationary buffeting response.

Collapse and Reinforcement of Pipe-Framed Greenhouse under Static Wind Loading

The present paper investigates the collapse process of a pipe-framed greenhouse under static wind loading based on a non-linear finite element analysis.The purpose is to establish a more reasonable wind resistant design method for such structures.The structures are so flexible that the fluid-structure interaction(FSI)is considered in the analysis.In practice,iterative analyses of the structure’s response and the wind pressure distribution on the deformed structure are made.The wind direction is normal to the ridge.Computational fluid dynamics(CFD)analysis with a RANS turbulence model is used for evaluating the time-averaged wind pressure coefficient distribution on the structure.Both the geometric and the material non-linearity are considered in the structural analysis.The collapse behavior obtained is consistent with the practical one often observed in damage investigations.Based on the results,discussion is made of the validity of the current design guideline commonly used in Japan.The same analysis is carried out for various reinforced models.The effect of each reinforcement method on the improvement of wind resistance of the structure is investigated on the basis of the allowable stress and deformation limits specified in the current design guideline.

Comparison and harmonization of building wind loading codes among the Asia-Pacific Economies

This paper reviews wind loading codes and standards in the Asia-Pacific Region,in particular in the 15 countries and areas.A general description of wind loading model is given as a famous wind loading chain described by four variables including velocity pressure,exposure factor,pressure coefficient,and gust response factor.Through the APEC-WW Workshops and the extensive calculations for three examples of low,medium and high rise buildings,these four important variables of wind loads are evaluated and compared with statistical parameters,mean values and coefficients of variation.The main results of the comparison show some differences among the 15 economies,and the reasons and further incorporation are discussed and suggested.

Collapse fragility assessment of steel roof framings with force limiting devices under transient wind loading

Steel structural frame is a popular structural form to cover large-span roof space and under high winds.Either part of the roof enclosure or the entire roof structure can be lifted off a building,particularly for low sloped roofs subject to wind-induced suction force.Collapse of roof could cause severe economic loss and poses safety risk to residents in the building.The buckling of members in a steel roof frame structure,which may lead to progressive collapse,may be dynamic in nature.This paper presents a fragility analysis of the collapse of steel roof frame structures under combined static and transient wind loading.Uncertainties associated with wind load change rate and member imperfections are taken into account in this study.A numerical example based on a Steel Joist Institute(SJI)K series joist was used to demonstrate the use of force limiting devices for collapse risk mitigation.For the presented fragility assessment of steel roof collapse,a Monte Carlo method combined with response surface approach was adopted,which greatly reduces the computation time and makes the Monte Carlo simulation feasible for probabilistic collapse analysis of steel roof frame structures.

Fragility assessment of wood sheathing panels and roof-to-wall connections subjected to wind loading

The performance of the wood-frame buildings after tornadoes has shown that the majority of the wind damage resulted from building envelope failure most typically due to the loss of the roof.To assess the performance and the reliability of low-rise wood-frame residential buildings with a focus on the roofs,fragility analysis can be used to estimate the probability of failure of a roof when constructed with specified nails and sheathing sizes.Thus,this paper examines the fragility of specific types of nails,roof-to-wall(RW)connection details,and sheathing sizes based on the damaged roofs that were previously assessed in the Dunrobin area in Ottawa(Ontario)that was hit with an Enhanced Fujita(EF3)tornado on September 21,2018.The presented fragility analysis considers four scenarios,including different sheathing and nail sizes.Dead loads,wind loads,and resistance on the sheathing panels were compiled and analyzed to determine the failure of the examined roofs.The eight fragility models suggest that the safest roof sheathing(RS)is the 1.22 m×1.22 m sheathing panel with 8 d nails,and the safest RW connections is achieved by using H2.5 hurricane clips.

PROBABILITY MODEL AND SOLUTION ON EARTHQUAKE EFFECTS COMBINATION IN ALONG WIND RESISTANT DESIGN OF TALL-FLEXIBLE BUILDINGS

A model on the earthquake effects combination in wind resistant design of high-rise flexible structures is proposed in accordance with the probability method. Based on the Turkstra criteria, the stochastic characters of wind velocity, earthquake ground acceleration and excitations occurrence probability are taken into account and then the combination of the earthquake effects in structure wind resistant design is analyzed with the convolution approach. The results indicate that as for the tall flexible buildings whose lateral force is governed by wind loading, the maximum lateral loads verification with respect to the wind resistant design combined with earthquake effects may be more unfavorable compared with that in terms of the earthquake resistant design involving wind effects.

Grouping response method for equivalent static wind loads based on a modified LRC method

Wind loading is one of the most important loads for controlling the design of large-span roof structures. Equivalent static wind loads, which can generally aim at determining a specific response, are widely used by structural designers. A method for equivalent static wind loads applicable to multi-responses is proposed in this paper. A modified load- response-correlation （LRC） method corresponding to a particular peak response is presented, and the similarity algorithm implemented for the group response is described. The main idea of the algorithm is that two responses can be put into one group if the value of one response is close to that of the other response, when the structure is subjected to equivalent static wind loads aiming at the other response. Based on the modified LRC, the grouping response method is put forward to construct equivalent static wind loading. This technique can simultaneously reproduce peak responses for some grouped responses. To verify its computational accuracy, the method is applied to an actual large-span roof structure. Calculation results show that when the similarity of responses in the same group is high, equivalent static wind loads with high accuracy and reasonable magnitude of equivalent static wind distribution can be achieved.

Contribution of tuned liquid column gas dampers to the performance of offshore wind turbines under wind, wave, and seismic excitations

The main intention of the present study is to reduce wind, wave, and seismic induced vibrations of jacket- type offshore wind turbines （JOWTs） through a newly developed vibration absorber, called tuned liquid column gas damper （TLCGD）. Using a Simulink-based model, an analytical model is developed to simulate global behavior of JOWTs under different dynamic excitations. The study is followed by a parametric study to explore efficiency of the TLCGD in terms of nacelle acceleration reduction under wind, wave, and earthquake loads. Study results indicate that optimum frequency of the TLCGD is rather insensitive to excitation type. In addition, while the gain in vibration control from TLCGDs with higher mass ratios is generally more pronounced, heavy TLCGDs are more sensitive to their tuned frequency such that ill-regulated TLCGD with high mass ratio can lead to destructive results. It is revealed that a well regulated TLCGD has noticeable contribution to the dynamic response of the JOWT under any excitation.

Study on semi-active control of mega-sub controlled structure by MR damper subject to random wind loads

The recently proposed mega-sub controlled structure （MSCS）, a new type of structure associated with the design and construction of super-tall buildings, has attracted the attention of designers for use in enhancing the control effectiveness in mega-frame buildings. In this paper, a dynamic equation and method to assemble parameter matrixes for a mega-sub controlled structure under random wind loads is presented. Semi-active control using magnetorheological dampers for the MSCS under random wind loads is investigated, and is compared with a corresponding system without dampers. A parametric study of the relative stiffness ratio and relative mass ratio between the mega-frame and the substructures, as well as the additional column stiffness ratio that influences the response control effectiveness of the MSCS, is discussed. The studies reveal, for the first time, that different control mechanisms exist. The results indicate that the proposed structure employing semi-active control can offer an effective control mechanism. Guidelines for selecting parameters are provided based on the analytical study.

Application of artificial neural networks in optimal tuning of tuned mass dampers implemented in high-rise buildings subjected to wind load

High-rise buildings are usually considered as flexible structures with low inherent damping. Therefore, these kinds of buildings are susceptible to wind-induced vibration. Tuned Mass Damper（TMD） can be used as an effective device to mitigate excessive vibrations. In this study, Artificial Neural Networks is used to find optimal mechanical properties of TMD for high-rise buildings subjected to wind load. The patterns obtained from structural analysis of different multi degree of freedom（MDF） systems are used for training neural networks. In order to obtain these patterns, structural models of some systems with 10 to 80 degrees-of-freedoms are built in MATLAB/SIMULINK program. Finally, the optimal properties of TMD are determined based on the objective of maximum displacement response reduction. The Auto-Regressive model is used to simulate the wind load. In this way, the uncertainties related to wind loading can be taken into account in neural network’s outputs. After training the neural network, it becomes possible to set the frequency and TMD mass ratio as inputs and get the optimal TMD frequency and damping ratio as outputs. As a case study, a benchmark 76-story office building is considered and the presented procedure is used to obtain optimal characteristics of the TMD for the building.

Concept Design and Coupled Dynamic Response Analysis on 6-MW Spar-Type Floating Offshore Wind Turbine

Tower, Spar platform and mooring system are designed in the project based on a given 6-MW wind turbine. Under wind-induced only, wave-induced only and combined wind and wave induced loads, dynamic response is analyzed for a 6-MW Spar-type floating offshore wind turbine （FOWT） under operating conditions and parked conditions respectively. Comparison with a platform-fixed system （land-based system） ofa 6-MW wind turbine is carried out as well. Results demonstrate that the maximal out-of-plane deflection of the blade of a Spar-type system is 3.1% larger than that of a land-based system; the maximum response value of the nacelle acceleration is 215% larger for all the designed load cases being considered; the ultimate tower base fore-aft bending moment of the Spar-type system is 92% larger than that of the land-based system in all of the Design Load Cases （DLCs） being considered; the fluctuations of the mooring tension is mainly wave-induced, and the safety factor of the mooring tension is adequate for the 6-MW FOWT. The results can provide relevant modifications to the initial design for the Spar-type system, the detailed design and model basin test of the 6-MW Spar-type system.

A new framework for evaluating along-wind responses of a transmission tower

In this paper, an analytical framework to evaluate the along-wind-induced dynamic responses of a transmission tower is presented. Two analytical models and a new method are developed： （1） a higher mode generalized force spectrum （GFS） model of the transmission tower is deduced; （2） an analytical model that includes the contributions of the higher modes is further derived as a rational algebraic formula to estimate the structural displacement response; and （3） a new approach, applying load with displacement （ALD） instead of force, to solve the internal force of transmission tower is given. Unlike conventional methods, the ALD method can avoid calculating equivalent static wind loads （ESWLs）. Finally, a transmission tower structure is used as a numerical example to verify the feasibility and accuracy of the ALD method.

PATH INTEGRAL SOLUTION OF NONLINEAR DYNAMIC BEHAVIOR OF STRUCTURE UNDER WIND EXCITATION

A numerical scheme for the nonlinear behavior of structure under wind excitation is investigated. With the white noise filter of turbulent-wind fluctuations, the nonlinear motion equation of structures subjected to wind load was modeled as the Ito＇ s stochastic differential equation. The state vector associated with such a model is a diffusion process. A continuous linearization strategy in the time-domain was adopted. Based on the solution series of its stochastic linearization equations, the formal probabilistic density of the structure response was developed by the path integral technique. It is shown by the numerical example of a guyed mast that compared with the frequency-domain method and the time-domain nonlinear analysis, the proposed approach is highlighted by high accuracy and effectiveness. The influence of the structure non-linearity on the dynamic reliability assessment is also analyzed in the example.

Effects of sudden change in wind loads on running performance of trains on a highway-railway one-story bridge in crosswinds

To investigate the effects of sudden change in wind loads on the running performance of trains on the bridge in crosswinds,a highway-railway one-story bridge was taken as the research object.Aerodynamic coefficients of the train and the bridge were measured in a series of train-bridge system segment models through wind tunnel tests when two trains passed each other on the bridge and when a train entered and left the wind barrier section of the bridge.Based on the improved SIMPACK and ANSYS rigid-flexible coupling simulation method,a wind-double train-track-bridge system coupled vibration model was established.The dynamic responses of the train were analyzed under the effects of sudden change in wind loads caused by two trains passing each other and a train entering and leaving the wind barrier section of the bridge.The results show that the effects of sudden wind load change caused by the trains passing each other had less effects on the running safety of the leeward-side train than the wind shielding effect caused by the windward-side train in the wind speed range of 10−25 m/s.With the decrease in the porosity of wind barriers,the effects of the sudden wind load change played an increasingly important role in the running safety and comfort of the train.With the increase in wind speed,the lateral response of the train increased obviously because of the effects of sudden wind load change,which affects both the lateral running stability and the comfort of the train.

Measurements of Wind Loads on Side-by-Side Semi-Submersibles in A Wind Tunnel

The multi-body system has been a popular form for offshore operations in terms of high efficiency.The wind effects are crucial which directly affect the relative positions of floating bodies and operating security.In this study,the aerodynamic characteristics for two coupled semi-submersibles were analyzed in a wind tunnel to fill the gaps in literature related to the wind sheltering on offshore platforms.The influences of separation distance were also investigated.According to the results,substantial shielding effects were observed and wind forces on the shielded vessel decreased dramatically:a reduction in the transverse force could be up to 74%.Moreover,the longitudinal wind load was amplified by the platform abreast in a side-by-side configuration.As expected,the interference level became more pronounced with a decreasing separation distance.For cases in which wind interaction decayed rapidly with distance,logarithmic functions were preferable for describing the relationship between them.Whereas linear fitting was reasonable for the transverse wind force when there was still evident sheltering at a quite large distance.The length of shielding area was another important factor that there was approximately a linear relationship between it and the shielding level for two platforms in close proximity at various wind attack angles.Based on the two parameters,a preliminary wind loads estimation method considering shielding effects was proposed.This approach can aid the industry to have a qualitative assessment of wind sheltering especially at early stages.

Study on longitudinal wind load calculation method of cables for cable-stayed bridge

Along with the expanding of span of cable-stayed bridge,wind load becomes a more and more important controlling factor for bridge the design.A very large proportion of the wind load acting on cables has exceeded that acting on deck.There was not any detailed prescript in Chinese code for calculation of longitudinal wind load on cables due to lack of theoretical research and experiment,and conservative simplified calculation was adopted during design,which leads to conservative and uneconomical design of structures.To resolve this problem,cable force experiment was carried out during the design of Sutong Bridge.By comparing with international research results,the calculation formula of longitudinal wind drag coefficient for cables was advanced to fill the blank of bridge wind resistant code of China,and has already been adopted in the Highway Bridge Wind Resistant Design Code(JTG/T D60-01-2004)with great significance for bridge engineering.

Determination method of load balance ranges for train operation safety under strong wind

The aerodynamic performances of a passenger car and a box car with different heights of windbreak walls under strong wind were studied using the numerical simulations, and the changes of aerodynamic side force, lift force and overturning moment with different wind speeds and wall heights were calculated. According to the principle of static moment balance of vehicles, the overturning coefficients of trains with different wind speeds and wall heights were obtained. Based on the influence of wind speed and wall height on the aerodynamic performance and the overturning stability of trains, a method of determination of the load balance ranges for the train operation safety was proposed, which made the overturning coefficient have nearly closed interval. A min(|A1|+|A2|), s.t. |A1|→|A2|(A1 refers to the downwind overturning coefficient and A2 refers to the upwind overturning coefficient)was found. This minimum value helps to lower the wall height as much as possible, and meanwhile, guarantees the operation safety of various types of trains under strong wind. This method has been used for the construction and improvement of the windbreak walls along the Lanzhou–Xinjiang railway(from Lanzhou to Urumqi, China).

Numerical Simulation for Prediction of Wind Loads on Building Surfaces

The reliability of the numerical K ε model for determining wind pressure on building surfaces is evaluated. The solution algorithm is based on a body fitted non orthogonal curvilinear coordinate system and a staggered grid arrangement. The covariant velocity components are chosen as dependent variables. Convective fluxes are described by the Power Law Scheme. The grids are generated with an elliptic grid generator using control functions. The results compare favorably with those by Oxford wind tunnel measurements.

On Advanced Control Methods toward Power Capture and Load Mitigation in Wind Turbines

This article provides a survey of recently emerged methods for wind turbine control. Multivariate control approaches to the optimization of power capture and the reduction of loads in components under time-varying turbulent wind fields have been under extensive investigation in recent years. We divide the related research activities into three categories： modeling and dynamics of wind turbines, active control of wind turbines, and passive control of wind turbines. Regarding turbine dynamics, we discuss the physical fundamentals and present the aeroelastic analysis tools. Regarding active control, we review pitch control, torque control, and yaw control strategies encompassing mathematical formulations as well as their applications toward different objectives. Our survey mostly focuses on blade pitch control, which is considered one of the key elements in facilitating load reduction while maintaining power capture performance. Regarding passive control, we review techniques such as tuned mass dampers, smart rotors, and microtabs. Possible future directions are suggested.

Fracture Analysis for Torsion Problems of a Gravity Platform Column with Cracks Under Wind Load

Ocean platforms are subjected to a variety of environment loads, such as those from winds, waves, currents, etc. In this study, the torsion problems of a gravity platform column with cracks under wind load were investigated. The colmnn was assumed to be a composite cylinder. Therefore the torsion fracture problem of a composite cylinder was considered, and new boundary integral equations for the Saint-Venant torsion problem of a composite cylinder with curvilinear cracks were derived. The problem was re- duced to solving the boundary integral equations on every boundary. By using the new boundary element method, the torsion prob- lem of the gravity platform colunm with a straight crack under various wind loads was calculated. The obtained results were com- pared with those obtained for a torsion problem of the same column without cracks to prove the applicability of the present method. The comparison showed that the detrimental effect of cracks in a column should be considered in marine engineering.