Abstract:
This research was set out to propose a simplified procedure for determining the equivalent static wind pressures for design of buildings of intermediate heights in Thailand, with typhoon effect taken into consideration in typhoon prone areas. Computation of wind pressures was based on the National Building Code of Canada, 1990. The important parameters considered were the dynamics characteristics of structures. viz. the fundamental natural period of vibration, damping ratio and slenderness ratio of the building, wind speed and the associated return period. The study revealed that for a given building geometry and terrain, a 100% increase in the natural period of vibration of the building (from H/60 to H/30 sec.) results in a maximum increase in wind pressure of only about 20% in the reference zone (basic wind speed of 24.9 m/s with a 30 year-return period). When the damping ratio is decreased, the gust effect factor increases non-linearly resulting in an increase in wind pressure of about 5% and 15% when the damping ratio is decreased by 0.5% and 1% from the reference value of 1.5%, respectively. Increasing the slenderness ratio of the building with other parameters unchanged would increase the value of the gust effect factor only slightly, resulting in an increase in pressure of about 5% and 10% when the slenderness ratio is changed from 4 to 6 and 8 ,respectively. With the wind speed increased from the reference value of 24.9 m/s to 28.2 m/s. the wind pressure is increased by 33%. The same trend is observed when a 100 year-returned period is considered. The effect of typhoon is to increase the wind pressure by about 70%. With the influence of the parameters studied, a simple procedure is presented for determining the design wind pressures for the reference condition. Correction factors are then applied to account for the wind climate, typhoon return period, slenderness ratio and damping ratio of the building. Comparison of building costs for two case studies revealed that the extra cost for typhoon resistance design for the structural elements amounted to only 0.9% and 0.7% for a standard three-storey school building and an eight-storey dormitory, respectively, provided they were properly designed to have appropriate wind load resistance in accordance with the B.E. 2522 Building Control Act. However, this statement applies to the case studies only because the gravity load effect is significant in the two buildings considered.