Wind, terrain and structural damping characteristics under tropical cyclone conditions

A large number of buildings and structures, including some well-engineered structures, have been reported to be damaged during tropical cyclones. This stresses the need to study the various characteristics of tropical cyclone winds. A full-scale field experiment on a 52 m tall steel lattice tower has been undertaken to study the wind, terrain and structural characteristics under normal and tropical cyclone wind conditions. Data collected from the instrumented tower during tropical cyclones in June and December 1996 were analyzed and compared with the characteristics obtained during normal wind conditions. The measured wind and terrain characteristics have been compared with the results reported in the literature. The measured structural characteristics, such as the fundamental frequency and damping ratio of the structure, have been compared with the analytical values and those reported in the literature. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.