Peak Non-Gaussian Wind Effects for Database-Assisted Low-Rise Building Design.
Peak Non-Gaussian Wind Effects for Database-Assisted
Low-Rise Building Design.
(344 K)
Sadek, F.; Simiu, E.
Journal of Engineering Mechanics, Vol. 128, No. 5,
530-539, May 2002.
Keywords:
wind effects; building design; databases; building
codes; database-assisted design; probability
distributions; non-Gaussian procedures; stochastic
procedure; structural reliability; wind loads; low-rise
buildings
Abstract:
Procedures for estimating the peaks of the stochastic
response of tall buildings to wind loading are based on
the assumption that the response is Gaussian. Those
procedures are therefore inapplicable to low-rise
buildings, in which wind-induced internal forces have
generally non-Gaussian marginal distributions. An
automated procedure is developed for obtaining
efficiently sample statistics of internal force peaks
for low-rise building design and codification. The
procedure is designed for use in software for
calculating internal force time series by the
database-assisted design approach. A preliminary step in
the development of the procedure is the identification
of the appropriate marginal probability distribution of
the time series using the probability plot correlation
coefficient method. The result obtained is that the
gamma distribution and a normal distribution are
appropriate for estimating the peaks corresponding,
respectively, to the longer and shorter tail of the time
series' histograms. The distribution of the peaks is
then estimated by using the standard translation
processes approach. Because estimates obtained from this
approach are based on the entire information contained
in the time series, they are more stable than estimates
based on observed peaks. The procedure can be used to
establish minimum acceptable requirements with respect
to the duration and sampling rate of the time series of
interest, so that the software used for
database-assisted design be both efficient and accurate.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899