Wind characteristics in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) and structural performance under extreme wind conditions are of major concern in the design of tall buildings in tropical cyclone-prone regions. On August 22, 2008, Typhoon Nuri (0812) made landfall over Hong Kong and then passed over its city center. This paper presents the analyzed results of the observations collected at two offshore meteorological stations and by a structural health monitoring system installed in a 420-m-high supertall building in downtown Hong Kong during the entire passage of Typhoon Nuri. The wind characteristics over open (sea) and urban (city) terrains at different stages of the typhoon are presented and discussed. Moreover, the wind-induced responses of the supertall building during the typhoon are investigated. The structural dynamics properties and serviceability of the supertall building during a landfall typhoon are evaluated. This study aims to investigate the wind characteristics in the ABL during a landf...

Field measurements of wind effects on a 420-meter-high supertall building in Hong Kong were analyzed during the passages of 14 tropical cyclone (TC) events, from 2008 to 2016, with a total recording time duration of 360 h. In this paper, statistical results of wind characteristics of these TCs are presented and discussed; modal parameters of the building such as natural frequencies and damping ratios are estimated using the random decrement technique, which is a deterministic time domain method, as well as the Bayesian spectral density approach, which is a recently proposed probabilistic frequency domain method; and the serviceability of the skyscraper during these violent TC events are evaluated against three comfort criteria. This study uses a substantial amount of field data to yield accurate estimations of the modal parameters of the building to further the understanding of wind effects on supertall buildings in TC-prone regions to provide useful information for their wind-resistant designs.

This paper analyzes the wind pressures on the claddings of a 600-m-high skyscraper in Shenzhen, China, during Super Typhoon Mangkhut on September 16, 2018. A synchronous monitoring system that included 48 pressure transducers was implemented to measure the cladding pressures of the skyscraper during the typhoon event. Based on field measurements, the mean, root-mean-square fluctuating, peak (maximum and minimum) pressure coefficients are presented and discussed. Then the mean and peak pressure coefficients are used to validate the design values stipulated in the design code of China. Comparative study finds that the design values of the peak pressure coefficients on the windward and leeward faces of the skyscraper are conservative, while those on the side faces are nonconservative. As for the mean pressure coefficients, the design values are conservative for all faces. Moreover, the non-Gaussian characteristics, power spectral densities, coherences, and correlations of the measured cladding pressures are analyzed to explore the mechanisms of pressure fluctuations on the four sides of the skyscraper. This paper aims to enhance understanding of cladding pressures of high-rise buildings under extreme wind conditions and, therefore, to provide useful information for future designs of wind-resistant skyscrapers in tropical cyclone–prone regions.

Because of the growing vulnerability of coastal regions to tropical cyclone (TC), or typhoon and hurricane, hazards under climate variability, a thorough knowledge of TC wind characteristics and wind effects on high-rise buildings is highly desired for efficient TC risk mitigation in coastal cities. This paper presents a city-scale typhoon hazard assessment and field monitoring study of wind effects on skyscrapers in a coastal metropolis (Shenzhen, China) during the record-breaking Super Typhoon Mangkhut. Spatiotemporal variation of wind fields over the metropolis was investigated using synchronous wind observations from a network of weather stations and a 356-m-high meteorological tower. Typhoon hazard in the coastal city was assessed through the typhoon hazard map obtained by numerical simulations and validated by wind observations. Wind-induced vibrations and time-varying structural dynamic properties of two representative skyscrapers with heights of 600 and 392 m in Shenzhen were analyzed to determine the dynamic performance and serviceability of the monitored high-rise buildings under violent wind excitations. This integrated city-scale field monitoring and numerical study furthers the understanding of TC wind characteristics in the urban environment, and facilitates the wind-resistant design of future skyscrapers in TC-prone regions.