AWES HB 001 2012

WIND LO DING H NDBOOK

FOR USTR LI NEW ZE L ND
Background to AS/NZS 1170.2 Wind Actions
 

AWES-HB0012012
AUSTRALASIAN WIND ENGINEERING SOC IE TY

ID LODIG HDOOK FOR UTRL

D E ELD
Background to AS/NZS 7. Wind Actions

by

J Holmes, K.C.S. wok and J Ginger

wih conibuions from:

AP Jeay,  Leich, WH Mebourne, P Muns, L. Nocos,
P Russel, AW Rofal, N Truong and G.S Wood

AUSTRALASIAN WIND ENGINEERNG SOCIETY, 2012

 

Publishe 2012
©Australasan Wn Enneern Societ
wwwawesorg)

Prnte b:
Unversit Pubshn Servce
he Universt o Sne

Al rhts strctl reserve No part o this book ma be reprouce

wthout te permission o the pubsher

Dewe ecmal classicaton: 624.175

SBN: 978-0-975037614
 

Preface

Recent wind events in Australia and overseas have caused catastrophic

resuts in those affected areas, with deats being reported as wel as
widespread destruction. Research and information gathered from these
events have been incorporated into the atest edition of AS/NZS 1170.2 -
201 to now represent a more reaistic determination of wind actions
The Standard applies to structures ranging from 'th lss snsitiv to
wind tion to thos o whih dynmi spons must b tkn into
onsidtion.

This Handbook was prepared by the AWES to provide background

information into wind and its actions, but aso into the derivation of the
Standard and its contents. It covers items sch as:

• Nature of wind loading

• Wind speeds and mutipiers
• Shape factors for structures
• Dynamic response

In particuar, it equips users with a better understanding of wind and the

Standard to provide them with improved iterpretation and judgment in
determining wind actions on structures

Equaly important, it enabes the user to extend the Standard imitations

whie sti complying with reguations, abeit other information may be
ecessary.

It must be borne in mind: the user is uimatey responsible for their

design, notwithstanding the Standard, and this Handbook xists to ssist
th us s  s ptibl to dishg thos sponsibilitis in th
bst intsts o th pojt, th own nd th ommunity

Leo Noicos
BEng, FIEAust, CPEg, NPER, RPEQ
Senior Principal Structural Engineer
URS Austraia Pty Ltd
 

Discaimer: While all due are has been taken in the olletion and preparation of
information in this Handbook no responsibility is assumed by the Australasian Wind
Engineering Soiety or the individual authors or ontributors for any onsequenes arising
 from the use of it

Acknowedgements The authors aknowle_dge the indiret ontributions of other members

of subCommittee 806-2 of Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand not listed as
authors or ontributors on the first page and the assistane of Steve Cohard (University of
Sydney during the prodution proess for this book
 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 ntrductin, itry and cpe 9

1.1 ntrouction 9
12 Nature o win oain 10
1.3 Histo o Australian an New Zeaan Stanars on win loain 11
1.3.1 Histor o Australian Stanars 11
132 Previous New Zeaan Stanas 14
1.4 Scope, an etermination o win actions 14
15 Uncertainties in estimation o win oain 16
1.6 Desin win pressues, oces an oa cases 16
16.1 Desin win pessures 16
162 Win irections 17 
1.6.3 Frictiona a 17
164 Ultimate an seviceabilit imit states 17
165 Fatiue 18
1.6.6 Torsion 19
17 Winbone ebis 20

 ind peed and Mutipier 

2.1 Desciption o extreme win tpes 23

22 Tpes o win spees use in AS/NZS 1170.2 25
23 Importance evels an aveae recurence intevals 25
24 Reiona win spees an iection multipiers 27
241 Reional win spees 27
2.42 Eect o ecorin instument 28
243 Win irection mutipies () 28
244 cone cateoies an impotance levels 30
2.45 Win spees o othe juisictions 31
25 Terain cateories an terainheiht mutiplies 31
251 Terran cateories 32
2.5.2 Terainheiht multiplies or snoptic wins ( ct) 33
253 Terranheiht mutipiers in cclonic eions (ct) 36
2.6 Shiein multipier 37 
27 Topoaphic an hishape mutipies 38
27.1 Site elevation 38
2.72 Hilshape multiplier () 38
2.7.3 Leeeect multiplier (ee) 39
 

 erdyamic hape factr fr eced buidig 4

31 Genera 41
3.11 Loa fuctuatons 41
3.1.2 he qasstea assumpton in AS/NZS 1170.2 43
31.3 Duraton of wn loas 44
32 nternal pressures (Cp 45
3.2.1 Domnant openins 4
3.2.2 Sze of omnant openn an nternal voume 47
32.3 nternal wals an cens 49
3.3 Externa pressures on recanuar enclose bins 49
3.3.1 Extenal pressure coeffcents (Cp,e) 50
34 Ajstment factors 51
341 Area reucton factor () for roofs an se wals 51
3.42 Acton combnation factor () 51
3.4.3 Local pressure factor () 52
344 Permeabe can reuction factor for roofs an se wals () 53
3.5 Frctiona ra (Cj 53
3. Attachments to buns 53
3.1 Solar panels attache to roofs 54
3.2 Balcones an balustraes 55
33 Sunshaes 55
3.4 Parapets 57 

4.  hape actr fr ther tructure 9

41 ther enclose structures 59

411 Multspan blns 59
4.12 urve roofs 59
4.1.3 Bins slos an tanks 0
42 Freestanin wals hoarins an roofs 1
421 Was an hoarns 1
4.21 Free roofs an canopes 2
4.2.3 Attache canopies awnns an carports 2
43 antevere staum roofs 3
44 Structural members bun frames clinrca sectons an lattce towers 5
441 penframe structures 5
4.4.2 Roune cinrcal shapes 5
44.3 Sharpee cross sectons 7
444 attce towers an frameworks 7
4.45 Ancilares on attce towers 9
4.5 Permeabe (shaecloth) strctures 9
4 he role of wntunnel tests 70
 

   f  -  

.1 Introductio 71 

5.2 Dynamic properties of structures 72
2. Natural frequencies 72
.2.2 Structura damping 73
23 Aerodynamic dampig 7
3 Along-wid response of tal buidings and structures 7
31 Introduction 7
3.2 Derivation of a simple gust oading factor formua 76
.3.3 Dyamic response factor in AS/ NZS 1702   81
3 Aternative evauation of the along-wind response of ta structures by
the ESWL method 82
' ,
 Cross-wind respose mechanisms 8
 Cross-wind excitation due to icident turbulence 85 
..2 Wake excitation 85 
3 Crosswind excitation due to cross-wind motions 87
. Galoping excitatio 87
 Lock-in effects 88
 Cross-wind response ouidings 88
.6 Cross-wind respose of circuar chimeys masts ad poes 90
6 Basics 90
.6.2 Sinusoida model of css-wid respose 92
63 Radom vibration model 93
7 Iterference effects 9
.71 Interference effects on tal buidings 96
72 Interference effects o vibration of seder towers and masts 97
.8 Combination of aong ad cross-wid response 99
9 Occupat perceptio of motio and acceeration criteria 100

 :   

A Itroductio 03
A2 Dampig measurements and physica mechanisms 03
A3 Predictors of damping 10

  f   9

 


 

1: INTRODUCTON, HSORY AND SCOPE

1.1 INTRODUCON

This Handbook s intended to support and suppement the Australian/New Zealand

Standard for Wnd Actions, AS/NZS 702:20 It provides background for the clauses n
the Standard. In addition, it provides addtonal nformation on shape factors and dynamc
factors, such as structura damping,  e. nformaton tat s compatbe wth, but not
provided in, te Standard itsef Although it performs the functons of a commentary, ths
Handbook does more than that; however, tere is no direct cause-by cause
correspondence wth the Standard tsef

Ths document is a successor to the 'Commentary to AS 702-989' publshed by th�

Australian Wnd Engneerng Society (Holmes, Mebourne and Walker, 990), wch
performed a simlar functon for the 989 Australan Standard.

The Handbook s dvded nto the folowng chapters nd ppendces:

Chapter  gves an introducton to wnd loadng, a history of te Standard, and ncudes
background on Sections 1 and 2 of te Standard tsef

Capter 2 dscusses wnd speeds and multipers incoporatng background to Sections  and
 in AS/NZS 702

Chapter 3 provides background on Section 5 in the Standard  e sape factors for
rectangular enclosed buidings Additonal nformaton for desgners is gven  partculary
on attachments to budngs.

Chapter 4 covers shape factors for structures other tan rectangular enclosed buildngs, and
ncudes commentary on Appendices C to Fin the Standard

Chapter  dscusses the dynamc response of structures to wnd and provdes background to
Section 6ynamic response factor n the Standard

Appendix A provdes a more detaied discussion of structura dampng than that gven n
Chapter , and Appendx B provdes a comprehensve list of references and a bbliograpy.

References to causes, fgures, tabes etc. n AS/NZS 702:20 are gven n italics in ths
Handbook. References to sections, fgures and tables in the Handbook are not n tacs
 



2 NATUE OF WIND LOADING

Wn oan o stuctres s a complex phenomenon. he wn tsel s ranom, ben
compose o a mutte o ees o varn szes an otatonal characterstcs care
alon n a eneal steam o a movn elatve to the Earths srace. hese ees ve
wn ts ust or tubulent chaacter n both Astraa an New Zealan, extreme wns
can be pouce b a varet o mechansms

n Australa, extreme wns whch ae mportant n the esn o stuctures can be classe
as 'snoptc wns an smallscale thunestom events. Snoptc wns ae prouce b
aescale pessure sstems  essentall a balance between ools orces assocate wth
the earths otaton, an pessure aents. hese storms ma ast o severa as. n
asmana an the South slan o New Zealan, locate n the lattues known as the
'oan otes, ales proce b arescae snoptc events ae common. hese aso
aect the southen coastlne o Austala. Alon the easten coast o New South Waes,
stron wns are oten pouce b 'East oast Lows  ow pessre sstems n the asman
Sea

ropcal ccones are a patcua tpe o severe snoptc stom that occr over the tropcal
ocean. n the Northen Hemsphere the ae also known b the names o 'hurcanes an
'tphoons. n Austraa the aect extensve lenths o the coastnes o Qeenslan, the
Northern erto an Western Australa. n recent ecaes, nomaton ane rom
satelte man, an acat lhts n othe countes, has eatl mpove knowlee o
these events. n man events, reatve lttle entve nomaton on the wn spees
prouce when topcal cclones make anal n Austaa s avalabe, ue to the
spaseness o anemometes

Fo snoptc wns, the ustness o stron wns n the lowe levels o the atmosphee,
known as th 'bounar laer, arses om rctonal nteactons wth srace eatues sch
as veetaton, bns an wate sraces, whch chaacteze the teran n the ower
levels o the bounar ae, n whch most stuctures ae locate, the wn spee aveae
over tme peos o ten to sxt mnutes eneral nceases poessve wth heht, whle
the ustness, o tublece, tens to ecrease wth heht he aveae wn spees are
aso aecte sncant b toporaph, such as hls, escarpments an es

hunerstorms are ven b stron convecton o warm most a to hh alttues. Rap
coon s accompane b the release o atent heat hs ener eappears as knetc
ene o alln an, hal an col ar. he ownrat o col a enerates an outlow st
ront at roun level he maxmum ust om these events near the oun can excee
5 m/s.

Alon the coastal strp o sotheastern Australa, convectve thunerstorms an severe
ownrats are sual assocate wth co onts However, n nothern an nlan
Australa, severe stoms ae prouce b ocal convecton Althouh relatvel lttle s
known about the vaaton o ust wn spees wth heht n these evets, the ust proe
at tme o the peak wns appears to ncease sowl p to about 1 metes heht,
eucn n mantue at reate hehts; howeve, the sts are wel corelate (o
 



synchronized) over large distances horizontaly, resuting i significant wind loading on

horizontal, ineike structures such as transmission ines. The period of strong winds is
much shorter than for synoptic events An appropriate averaging time for winds in
convective downdrafts is abot  minute The turbulence, or gstiness, superimposed on
the average wind is lower than that for synoptic events, as the effects of terrain and surface
roughness are much lower. Topography is also expected to have a esser efect on wind
gusts from downdrafts, compared with that on synoptic winds

New Zealand, particuarly in the South Island, experences 'downsope winds on the lee side
of the Alps These are associated with gravity waves above the mountain peaks. They can
prodce sustained winds for several hours but affect relatively smal areas

When strong winds interact with a structure, pressres and forces on the surfaces of the
strcture are generated The characteristics of these pressures are influenced by the
characteristics of the approaching wind and the geometry of the structure Significant
interna pressres may aso be generated if there are openings, or permeabiity, inking the
exterio of a building with the interior

Pressures on structures are not steady, bt highy flctuating, partly because of the
gstiness in the wind, but aso because of local eddies and vortex generation at the edges of
the strctures themselves The pressures are also not uniformly distribted spatialy over
the surace of a structure.

Most of the efects described in this section are incorporated into the Standard in some
form or other, but mosty in an approximate, or generalized way The complexities of wind
loading described here should be kept in mind wen applying a design docment ike the
Astralian/New Zealand Standard Due to these many uncertainties, the maximum wind
oads may vary from those assumed in design It shold also be noted that the actual
strength of a structure, or its eements, when constructed, may dier consideraby from
that assumed at the design stage Ths nonfailure of a strcture due to wind cannot
necessarily be taken as evidence of conservatism of the wind actions Standard

 HISTOY OF AUSTALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND STANDADS ON

WIND LOADING

131 History of Australian Standards

AS/NS 1702:201 has a lineage that goes back orty years Australian Standard CA34,
Part I published in 197 (Standards Association of Australia, 971) replaced an earlier
interim document, and was the first modern wind loading code or standard pblished in
either Astralia or New ealand. Although in Imperial units, all subsequent Australian and
New Zealand Standards are directy descended from it t contained a contour map of
'regiona basic wind speeds in miles per hor with a Oyear return period (applicable to
most sructures), using anemometer data analyzed by Whittingham (1964) As in all
subseqent versions, this wind speed was defined as a gst of 23 seconds duration
 



reorded at te tandard meteoroloial heiht o (33t.) 0 m in lat open, terran

However, reent reear a ound that the averain tme o te pea ut, reorded by
te Dine anemometer ued at that time, wa onderably le than 2-3 eond  ee
Setion 242

CA34 Part  alo ave a table o 'reonal ba dein wnd velote or 5, 25, SO and 00-
year return period value or 48 tie, town and other entre, or wh te wind peed
analye had been arried out. Value or a number o thee tation were labeed 'hort
reord Notaby, oniderin the event that ourred three year later, e value ven or
Darwn or 00year return perod wa only 9 mph (53 m/). owever, a ylone ator
o .5 wa applied to al loaton noth o 30 °S wtn 30 mle o te oatlne. The our
terrain ateore peied were eentialy the ame a toe iven n te urrent Standard.
Shape ator (preure and ore oeient) were al iven n an Appendx and were
larey baed on the Brt Code o Prate and Sw Norm o te time, wt vaue
obtaned n moot low wnd tunnel. owever, oa preure ator o 5 and 20 were
peied n ede and orner reion  but wit no tributary area retriton A eton on
dynam repone wa provded, but thi larely oered derptive and reerene matera.

AS 702  973 (Standad Aoation o Autralia, 973) wa eentally a metri verion
o CA34, Part  -97, althou ome ane to te lited reonal bai wnd peed were
made or ome taton. Dynami repone o tall buldn wa overed ony in an
normative Annex (n at  extrat rom a onerene paper by B.J Viery).

he ourrene o Cylone 'Tray at Darw, on Critma Day n 974, reulted in a new
verion o AS 70.2, wth a ane to te map o reona ba den wind veloite A
zonal ytem or the yoneprone oatal trip o northern Autrala wa introdued. Ao
in te 975 editon (Standard Aoiaton o Autralia, 975) an nreaed vaue o neative
preure oeent or laddin eement on ide wal o tall buldin wa reommended
in a note An amendment, releaed in 978, ntrodued a new table o external preure
oeiient o te roo o buildin with pthe le than 0 deree Thi wa later
norporated into te 98 edton o AS 70.2 (Standard Aoaton o Autrala, 98)

n the 983 edton o AS 702 (Standard Aoaton o Autralia, 983), te wdelyued
tabe in Appendix B o externa preure oeient or pthed roo buldin wa
extenvely revied to inude value obtaned in turbulent low rom a boundaryayer wind
tunnel n addtion, an area reduton ator or roo aordin to tributary area, a wind
dretion reduton ator, a new ytem o movin area or loal preure ator and
reved rule or wnd low over earpment, were ntrodued However, the majority o
AS 70.2983 wa milar n ormat and ontent to CA34, Part 97

The 989 edton o AS 702 (St �ndard Autralia, 989) wa a major revon o earer
veron. t wa ntrodued a part o the onverion to mit tate den n Autralia. t
alo attempted to provide an alternatve mpler approah or maller owre buldn,
and to provde a more aurate determnaton o wnd oad or tal truture wth
niant dynam repone AS 702-989 onted  three 'tandaone eton a
ollow
 

3

Setion 2 Simplied Proedure

Setion 3 Detailed Proedure: Stati Analysis
Setion 4 Detailed Proedure: Dynami Analysis

Each section had its own map o egiona wind speeds (pesses in the case o the
Simpiied Section), and mltiplies o teain and topogaphy. A new eate o the 1989
Standad was the speciication o highetnpeiod design wind speeds (ie. 1 yeas) o
timate imit state design his eiminated the eed o the 'cyclone acto in eaie
vesions. his concept has since been adopted in the United States

The 1989 Standad also contained nmeos othe changes with evisions to shape actos
o mltispan bidings eestanding walls and oos, and biding ames electing the
etensive eseach caied ot in the 19s and 198s. he cosswind esponse o tal
bildings was also incopoated in detai (possibly o the ist time anywhee in the wod)

AS/NS 11.: (Standads Astalia, Standads New ealand, a) was the ist
combined Astalian/New ealand wind actions Standad and was also a mao evision in
omat compaed to AS 111989

he ollowing majo changes wee aso intodced in :

• A vaiable anna pobabiity o eceedence was adopted o wind speeds. These
eplaced impotance mltiplies sed in AS 11.1989,
• he sepaate 'simpliied pocede, and detailed pocede: dynamic analysis,
sed in AS 11.1989 wee emoved, and a single design method based on a gst
wind speed was adopted,
• Diection mtipies o wind speeds o all noncyclonic egions wee intodced,
epacing diectional wind speeds o capita cities only in AS 11.1989,
• Methods based on mathematical omlae wee intodced o calcation o hil
shape (topogaphic)mtipies and o cosswind dynamic esponse o ta bildings,
• he methods o dynamic esponse sed o along and cosswind dynamic
esponse in AS 111989, wee eplaced with appoaches based, as the est o
the Standad, on a peak gst wind speed

n addition, nmeos smalle changes, additions and adjstments to the tables o shape
actos wee incopoated

Fo the ist time in its histoy, the  edition o the Standad was late spplemented by
a seiendly Gide (Holmes and King, 5), containing nine detaied eampes o
application o the Standad to vaios types o stcte.

he 11 edition o AS/NS 11 had a nmbe o signiicant changes and additiona
cases have been incopoated he pincipa changes ae as ollows

• A tosiona loading eqiement in Clause 254 in the om o an eccenticity o %

o the beadth, b, appied to the aong-wind oading. his has only been pescibed
 

4

or tall buldings greate than 70 metes n height (see Section 16.6 n ths
andbook)
• Wndbone debris mpact oadng criteria have been added n Clause 25 7.
• ew wodng n Clause 532 requires designes to teat closed doors and windows,
partcularly oller doors, as potential dominant openings unless t can be
demonstated that they are stucturaly capable o resisting the design wind oads
• A new Clause 534 eques consideraton o wnd oads on nternal wals and
celings
• A revsed verson o Clause 543 concerned wth the acton combnaton acto
• Some changes to Clause 544 and Table 56 on local pessue actors

n an Amendment to AS/ZS 1170.22011, based on recent esearch on the wnd proes n

topca cycones and huricanes, t is proposed to remove Table 41(8 - ie the
terain/heght multpliers n Regions  and D wl be the same as those speced or Regons
A and B Furthemoe, the terrain category or ovewater wnds wil generaly be treated
as Terrain ategoy 1, rrespective o mt state (i.e on the evel o wind speeds), or o the
region. However, o winds blowng om an ocean etch, the nshoe regon o breaking
waves may be treated as an intermediate Teran ategory Y

13.2 Previous New Zealand Standards

Por to 2002, ew Zealand had sepaate loading Standads dated 1984 and 1992 The wnd
loadng section (Part 5) o ZS 42031992 (Standads ew Zealand, 1992) was n act an
adapton o, and very smar to, AS 1172199. The man dierences wee n the
dieent treatment o topographic eects and multpers, and the lack o a dynamic
anaysis method or wind loadng owever, ZS 42031992 reerred the user to AS
1170.2-1989 o the atte

n 2002, in c_mmon wth many other standads, a combned Austaliaew Zealand Wnd
Actons Standard was publshed. The use o common standads has resulted rom the
loser Economc Relatons (ER) ree trade agreement between the two countes dating
back to the 1980s The seven wnd egions o ew Zealand n ZS 42031992 were
smpliied to three egions n AS/ZS 1170.22002 Also the 'limt-state multipliers used n
ZS 4203, to adjust wnd speeds or serviceabty and utmate limt states, were
discontnued Instead average recurence ntevas wee used n AS/ZS 1170.02002
Setion 3) as a bass or determining regonal wind speeds or design n ew Zealand.

14 SCOPE  J AND DETERMINATION OF WIND ACTIONS

Clause 11 o the Standard limts th coverage to buldngs less than 200m in heght and roo
spans less than OOm. 'Roo spans should be nterpreted as 'unsuppoted oo spans. In
the case o tal budngs geater than 200 metres n heght, the dynamic eects ae more
sgniicant and complex than can be handled by the Standad In both these cases, wnd
tunnel studes and related processng is nomal pactce. shore structues, bridges and
transmssion lne towers are also excluded. In the case o the ast two, separate Austraan
 

5

and Nw Zaland standards which incorporat wind oad information ar availab. In th
cas of bridgs in Austraia, th Bridg Dsign Standard is AS 500 (Standards Austraia,
2004) For ovrhad lin dsign, an Australian  Nw Zaand Standard, ASNZS 7000:200
was issud in 200 (Standards AstraiaStandards Nw Zaand, 200)

Th ffcts of tornados ar also xcldd in Clause 11. n Australia, only about sixtn
confirmd tornados occr on avrag ach yar, ovr th whol country. h risk of a
dirct strik on an individa structur is minimal; howvr a strctur dsignd to satisfy
ASNZS 70.2 shold prform satisfactorily in wakr tornados  i. Catgoris F and F2
on th Fujita scal

Dirct application of ASNZS 702 is on mthod of dtrmination of wind actions, and is
th rcommndd mthod by th Buiding Cod of Australia. owvr, hr ar othr
altrnativ paths, or spcial studis, that provid an quivant v of confidnc, and ar
rgardd as accptabl:

• Riab rfrncs usd consistnty with th causs of ASNZS 702

• Riab data on wind spd and dirction corrctd for th infunc of trrain,
topography and nighbouring buildings whr ncssary, incuding a dtaild
probabilistic anaysis for th ffcts of wind dirction.
• Wind tunnl tsts carrid ot for a spcific structur, or rfrnc to sch tsts on a
similar structur, togthr with appicabl clauss in ASNZS 702.
• Cacuations by computational fluid dynamics, whih have been aibrated against
 fullsale or windtunnel measureents

Windtunn tsting in Australia and Nw Zaland shold normally folow th procdurs of
th Quaity Assuranc Manual of th Australasian Wind Enginring Socity (AWES, 200)
n particuar, windtunn tsting to dtrmin th ffcts of synoptic winds shal nsur
that th appropriat trrain catgoris ar modld, and th variation of wind spd with
hight, and th sca and intnsity of turbunc ar modld with rasonabl accuracy
Whr curvd shaps ar involvd, th ffcts of Rynolds numbr shold b takn into
account (this usualy xcluds th us of modscal tsting at ow wind spds for
structrs with circular cross scions, such as chimnys) Masurmnt systms for forc
and prssur shoud hav appropriat frquncyrspons charactristics Whn a high
frquncy forc balanc approach is sd for tal buildings, statofth art mthods for
mod shap corrction and assssmnt of torsiona rspons should b adoptd. Whn
modling is adoptd to dirctly dtrmin rsonant dynamic rspons andor aroastic
ffcts, appropriat scaling of mass, stiffnss and structural damping should b adoptd
Finally, whn intrnal prssurs ar incudd in studis for buildings, appropriat scaling of
intrna volms should b adoptd (olms, 2006 Sharma et al 200)

Wind-tunnl tsts ar aso oftn carrid out for cass that are covrd in th Standard.
Such tsts can gnrally b xpctd to giv owr dsign wind oads than th Standard
Howvr, vn if that is not th cas, th rsults from th wind-tunnl stdis should b
sd in prfrnc to th vals from th Standard.
 

6

15 UNCERTAINTIES IN ESTIMATION OF WIND LOADING

n the determination o wind oads, varios paameters are combined  regiona wind
speeds, mltipiers or terrain, topography and shielding, aerodynamic shape actors, and in
some cases, a dynamic response actor able  gives estimations o the coeicients o
vaiation or these variabes

Table 1.1. Estimated coeffcients of variation for paametes used in AS/NZS 11702

Vs oo
Parameter Region A ther Regions Region A ther Regions
V R 007 02 02 020
Md 005 005 005 005
c at 00 00 00 00
 020 020 020 020
 05 00 05 00
C  fg 05 05 05 05
C dyn 00 00 00 00

he greater ncertainty o the regional wind speeds ( V R) o Regions B C and D relects the
act that tropica cyclones are generally too inreqent or analyses o anemomete data to
be able to make accrate predictions here is more ncertainty in the speciied vales o
topographic mltipliers in Region A becase o the ncertain efects o topography on
winds at grond evel prodced by thndersorm downdrafts and otlows

The genera poblems o codiication or vaios aspects o wind loads, and the vaiations
between national and internationa codes and standards were discssed in a series o
papers by Holmes t al., {2005a, Tamra t al. (2005b, Holmes t al (2005b, Letchord t
al (2005, an Kaspesky and Gerts (2005

16 DESIGN WIND PRESSURES, FORCES AND LOAD CASES

161 Design wind pressures

Equation 2.4(1 in the Standard is the basic eqation o design wind presses acting on a
bilding srace (extena or internal his eqation is reprodced in Eqn (

(

n this eqation, the dynamic wind pessre 0.5  airHV de s  2 represents the additional
presse generated when the wind low is broght to rest at a point in the low, without the
distbance prodced by a arge b body,  it reslts om the convesion o momentm
in the ow to a oce per nit area, and essentialy it is a statement o Newtons Second Law
 



The value of air density, Pain of 20 kg/m3 , specified in Clause  of the Standard, i s an
average vaue based on a temperature of 2° C, and typical atmospheric pressure at sea
level. Locations at high atitudes such as alpine areas have lower atmospheric pressure
which woud lead to lower air densities, but they also tend to have a lower temperature
than sites at sea level - this is a compensatory factor

Buildings and most other groundbased structures are aerodynamically 'bluff, rather than
streamlined. The effect of the buf body on the pressures and forces induced by the wind
is represented by the aerodynamic shape factor, · This normally takes a positive value
on a windward wal surface, but negative vaues on leeward and sde wals For detaied
expanations of wind fow around bluff bodies, the reader shoud consult textbooks on fluid
mechanics, or genera texts on wind effects of structures (eg Aynsley, Melbourne & Vickery,
1977; Cook, 98 1990 Holmes, 2007; Simiu & Scanlan, 99) Aerodynamic shape
factors, and associated factors ike local pressure factors, used in AS/NZS 11702 have
normaly been derived from windtunne studies, with some input from fulscale
measurements on structures, when they are availabe Aerodynamic shape factors are
covered in detail in Chapters 3 and 4 of this Handbook

The main function of the dynamic response factor,  is to allow for possible resonant
amplification effects on certain flexible structures with low natural frequencies. However
for the majority of structures that do not fit into this category,   may be taken as 1.0.
The dynamic response factor is discussed in Chapter  of his Handbook.

62  

Most of the aerodynamic shape factors provided in the Standard are given for four nominal
orthogonal wind directions Exceptions are freestanding walls and hoardings (Appendix ),
individua structural members, and lattice towers (Appendix ), for which oblique wind
directions ar� aso required to be considered As outlined in Clause  the orthogona
wind speeds are taken as the largest site wind speed within a 9 degree sector (ie +/ 45
degrees), centred on the nominal wind direction. This process is ilustrated in Figures 
and  in the Standard, and discussed in more detai in Chapter 2 of this Handbook.

63  

Wind pressures on a building surface can generaly be assumed to act normal to the surface
(but not necessarily parallel to the wind direction) However, for some situations, the
Standard (Clauses  and 5; ection 0 in Appendix  requires account to be
taken of the frictional drag, ie. the component paralle to the surface Those cases are:
the walls and roo of buildings that are very long in the direction parallel to the wind, and
freestanding roofs of low pitch rictional drag should be considered in conjunction with
normal wind pressures on columns, exposed roof beams, barges, flashings etc

64 Um  vby m 

Unlike AS 170.2989 in which specific wind speeds for utimate and serviceability imit
states were specified, AS/NZS 170.2:2002 and AS/NZS 170.22011 do not specificaly refer
 

8

to these design limit states However AS/NZS 17 (Standards Austaia/Standards New
Zealand b) in Scton 2 discusses them in some detail

For ultimate liit states design the designer should efer to one o thee sources to
detemine the importance level of the stucture being designed

• the Building Code of Australia (BCA) for buidings in Austalia (Austraian Building
Codes Board 11)
• Scton 3 o AS/NZS 117 for structures in New Zealand
• Appndx F of AS/NZS 117 o nonBCA structures in Australia

nce the impotance level is seected tabes in the above documents give the annua
pobabiity of exceedence (l/R). Then Tabl 31 in AS/NZS 117 can be used to
determine the appropriate regional wind speed  o design Tabl F2 in AS/NZ117
alows a vaiation in 'design working ife to be considered; howeve the BCA does no
recognize 'temporary structures or allow any adjustments o design woking lie

t should be noted that the BCA is only concerned with buildings and life safety and does
not conside serviceability imit states Howeve guidelines o seviceability limit states
are provided in AS/NZS 117 and in vaious material standards

Suggested seviceabiity limit states citeia (eg deflection imits) associated with an annual
probability o exceedence of 1/5 ae given in Tabl Cl of AS/NZS 117 Howeve these
should not be regaded as exclusive For example acceeration imits o windinduced
vibration of tall buidings are avaiable esewhee including Section 59 of this Handbook

165 Fatigue

Fuctuating ind orces can produce fatigue damage and occasionally ailures in dierent
ways Highcyce atigue  with an efective cycle count o 1  or more  can produce
failues o stee structues with windinduced stresses below the yied stess This is
relativey common for structures such as lightng poles and is usually accompanied by
resonant dynamic esponse which can greatly increase the cycle count at higher
fequencies Simpified methods o estimating fatigue life fo stuctues subjected to along
wind dynamic esponse have been descibed by Homes (a) Robertson t al ()
and Repetto and Solai (9) However up to now design methods o wind-induced
atigue have been regaded as too compex and equiring uther research beoe they can
be icluded in the Standard

Cyconic events have produced 'lowcycle fatigue faiures on roof and wal cadding with a
cyce count typically less than 1 Failures typicaly have occured in areas o stress
concentration around fasteners As stated in Scton 255 in the Standad Part 3 o AS
 (Standards Austraia 199) and the Buiding Code o Austraia both specify test
regimes for acceptable peromance o cladding and fastener systems or use in cyclone
prone regions These may change in the future folowing extensive esearch by Henderson
(1) using moe reaistic time histoies o fluctuating roo pessures
 

9

e rocode (Britis Standards nstitution, 2005, Figur B.3) provides a relationsip
between te nmber of times a stress is reaced or exceeded in a period o 50 years, and
te stress range in a normaized orm  i.e as a percentage of te largest value in a 50year
period is relationsip is insensitive to te site or location, and cold be applied in
Australia or New ealand for atige anayses.

166 orson

Wind loading can produce eccentric loading wic resuts in a torsion abot a vertica axis
around a centre of stiness o te building. is can be produced in a nmber of ways:

 non-uniform distribution o wind pressres, for exampe wen te wind blows
obliqely to te wal of a bilding,
 lctating loading de to trbuent gusting in te wind,
 dynamic torsion resuting from noncoincidence of te centre of mass of te building
wit te centre o stiffness

e olowing inormation on te efective eccentricity of wind loading on some actual tall
bildings was provided by a windtnne grop:

 Reguar 6::2 aspect ratio 80m tal building: 0.8

 blong saped pan wit a radised corner 200m tall wit a stepped elevation:
09*
 rreguar plan sape bt prismatic wer 30m tall (generaly 6::3): 08*
 Regular 3::3, 60m ig: 0.4
 Reguar 3::3, 80m g: 0.7
 wisting irregar plan (truncated aerooil) 64m ig (generally 6::3): 0.23*
 Aerooilsaped plan, 30m ta (generaly 6::3): 022*

*tese bilding forms strictly do not fal witin te scope o AS/N 70.2

ence, te 20 edition o te Standard, in Claus 254 as introduced a torsional
requirement in te orm of eccentricity o te resltant orce arising rom alongwind
loading. e eccentricity is given as 20% o te crosswind breadt () o te buiding is
reqirement is restricted in AS/NS 702 to rectanglar enclosed bidings of 70 metres
eigt or greater owever, tis eigt limit soud not be taen to impy tat torsiona
wind oading does not exist on oter structres, or bildings of lower eigt (e.g amra t
al 2003).

Pea torsion on buidings generally occurs at te same time as te pea along-wind orce
due to te location o te centre o pressure Crosswind orces are generaly not as wel
correated wit torsional moments.
 

20

1.7 WINDBORNE DEBRIS

The 1989 edton of AS 11702 (Cause   ntroduced a requrement that n cyclonc
regons, wndows shall be consdered as potental domnant openngs, unless capable of
resstng mpact by a 4 g pece of tmber of 100 mm x 50 mm cross secton, strng them at
any ange at a speed of 15 m/s Ths statement replaced a smple warnng n the 198
edton (possble debrs effects aso may requre attenton) The 1989 requrement
reflected concern by the standards commttees of the tme about the devastatng effects of
wndborne debrs n several tropca cyclones fro the 1970s onwards (eg Cycone Althea
n 1971 and Tracy n 1974) Creaton of domnant openngs n buldngs by wndborne
debrs had n many observed cases resuted n hgh nternal pressures eadng to roof
falures, and n some cases complete destructon of budngs The 2002 edton (AS/NZS
117022002), n Cause 5 extended the requrement from wndows to the budng
envelope (wndows, doors and claddng)

The 4 g tmber mssle and ts test speed was conceved n the 1970s n Darwn folowng
Cyclone Tracy (Darwn Reconstructon Comsson, 1975) However, at that tme, very
ltte research had been avaabe on the actual speeds reached by tmber roofng members
or other wndborne debrs n cyclones Of couse, athough dstance traveled by such
mssles can be determned n postdsaster surveys, t s usualy not possble to
quanttatvely determne mpact speeds durng suc nspectons

In the early 2000s, extensve research n the Unted States on mssle speeds n hurrcanes
was undertaen One of the ey concusns of ts research s that the horzonta msse
speed s drecty related to the horzonta dstance travelled A ey paper n establshng
horzonta sse speeds as a rato to the wnd gust speeds, n such events, s that by Ln et
a (2007) Ths research was based on extensve expermenta tests (wndtunnel and ful
scae tests usng a Hercules arcraft) and numercal smuatons

It s noted that the results of the above research on mssle traectores has been adopted n
a new Standard for Storm Sheters, ICC 500, recently publshed n the Unted States
(Internatonal Code Counc, 2008), and the Desgn Gudenes for Queensland Publc
Cyclone Shelters (Department of Publc Wors, Queensand, 2006)

Cause 5 ncorporates the same 4 g tmber msse as specfed n the 1989 and 2002
edtons; n addton, a smaller 2 gram stee bal s specfed uthermore, the horontal
mssle speeds for both msses are specfed as 04 tmes the regonal wnd speed; ower
vertcal msse testng speeds are specfed

or Regon C, the horzontal msse speed s therefore 04 x 69 m/s or 276 /s -
consderably hgher than the 15 /s (resultant) speed prevousy specfed However, the
research by Ln et a (2007) clearly ndcates that a mssle speed of 15 m/s n a wndstorm
producng 69 m/s gusts wl be attaned n a very short dstance of trave - less than 2 m n
fact 50% of the wnd gust speed s reached n a travel dstance of 78 m, a dstance typcal
of the spacng between buldngs n urban areas
 



The horizontal trajectory missiles appy to surfaces which ae subject to positive pessure
(i.e wals, steepy pitched roos) The vertical traectory missies apply to suraces on to
which aling objects may and (i.e oofs)

he 4 kg timber missile with a 100 x SO mm cross section is the dominant impact load
The  g stee bal missie is 8 mm diameter and has been incuded to ensure the buiding
envelope has a resistance to smal windborne debris. Test specifications and acceptance
criteria are deined in the Queensand Guidelines and the US Standard on Storm Shelters
Both documents requie the test missies to impact at ight angles to the surace he
Queensland Guidelines requires a test specimen to be impacted by the timber missile
olowed by impact by five steel balls at dieren locations More detaied criteria o the
perormance o building facades in windborne debris tests are also avaiable in a standard
published by the American Society or esting Materials (ASTM 2009).

The impact force applied to the building depends not only on the missile mass and speed,
but aso on the stiness of the buiding at the impact ocation The stier the impact
locatio, the geate the impact force Tests on the debis resistance o building elements
have shown that the critical location is oten near a support

Debris screens can be used to potect windows om windbone debis or a debis screen
to provide ull potection to a windw, the maximum apeture in the screen would need to
be ess than 8mm  lager apertue screens are used which resist the 4 kg missile, then the
glazing or insect screen woud need to be capable o resisting the  g missie. he gap
between the debis sceen and the glaing has to be suicient to ensue that when
impacted the screen delects without breaking the glazing The screen should eithe return
to the wal or overap the wal around the window, to prevent the missile breaking the
gazing rom an oblique impact Guidance on debris screen geometry is provided in the
Queensland Guidelines

uen builing standards do not require the extenal abric of a building to be resistant to
windborne debris, unless the building internal pressure is to be reduced in accordance with
Clause 532, i.e ignoring the possibility o a dominant opening The vulneability of people
shelterng within their homes in the cycloneaected egions o Austraia would be greatly
reduced i they had a room within the dweing constructed to esist cyconic winds and
windborne debis

Note tat ause 257 is not itsef a requirement or debris resistance. t merey specifies
the types and speeds of the missies when debis esistance is speciied elsewhere The
atte may include Clause 532 o the Standad, which is a requirement for intenal
pressues in cyconic regions, o a equirement or shelter ooms or buildings in cycone
regions  which may be required by builing owners or legislation.