Scour is the most frequent cause of bridge collapses in Mexico. Bridges located along the Mexican Pacific coast are exposed to extreme rainfall originating from tropical storms and hurricanes. Such environmental phenomena trigger sediment loss, which is known as scour. If maintenance actions are not taken after scouring events, the scour depth increases over time until the bridge collapses. A methodology to estimate the scour hazard considering both the scour–fill interaction and the Monte Carlo simulation method is proposed. The general extreme value probability distribution is used to characterize the intensity of the scouring events, the lognormal distribution is used to characterize the sedimentation process (fill), and a homogeneous Poisson process is used to forecast the occurrence of both types of events. Based on the above, several histories of scour–fill depths are made; such simulations are then used to develop time-dependent scour hazard curves. Different hazard curves associated with different time intervals are estimated for a bridge located in Oaxaca, Mexico.

The Monte Carlo simulation method for along-wind loads on tall buildings performed in the time and space domain may be the only analytical viable option for specific problems such as nonlinearity behavior, nonclassically damping, and detailed structural models in commercial software. However, both across-wind and torsional-wind loads due to vortex shedding are not usually simulated in time domain because the vertical decay constants are unknown or the empirical coherence functions cannot be applied in Monte Carlo simulation methods. In this paper, the spectral representation (SR) method is used to simulate in time domain the along-wind, across-wind, and torsional-wind loads on rectangular tall buildings considering the vertical correlation between the signals. The Krenk root-coherence function is used for the normalized cross-spectrum on the along-wind direction, whereas the Davenport root-coherence function is used for the other two types of wind loads. For both across-wind and torsional-wind loads, the Davenport root-coherence function was assessed at the vortex shedding frequency by changing the vertical decay constants until converge between the Davenport model and the Liang empirical coherence model was achieved. Based on a three‐dimensional model with two translational and one torsional degree of freedom for each floor, the proposed vertical decay constants were validated by comparing the elastic response between frequency domain and time domain approaches. Generally speaking, the results show that peak displacements are significantly underestimated for both across-wind and torsional directions when vertical correlation is neglected. In addition, the advantages of time domain simulation were shown by performing a nonlinear time history analysis considering a bilinear isotropic material hardening model in both translational directions.

The use of isolated vaulted canopy roofs (VCR) for schools, emerging shelters, sports and recreational centers, among others, is quite popular worldwide. However, the design of such structures to resist wind effects is usually a problem due to the scarce technical information available in the literature. As an alternative resource, in the present research, wind effects on this type of structures immersed in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) are studied numerically by using the 3D Reynolds averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) approach considering different aspect ratios and wind directions. Since wind tunnel testing information for these structures is limited, experimental results of a Gabled Canopy Roof (GCR) as well as some experimental results for VCR are used as a validation source for the numerical models. Based on this validation, the simulation results of the mean wind loads of VCR appear to be reasonably good. The numerical results are used to study the mean net-pressure coefficients (C_PN) over the VCR models and to establish the theoretical bases for coding them. It was found that the C_PN are very sensitive to the VCR curvature and wind direction (90°, 75°, and 60°), and to a less extent to the plan and elevation geometric ratios. Further, it was also found that the use of GCR C_PN for the design of VCR, as is usually done in professional practice, could lead to important differences in the magnitude of pressure coefficients and pressure distribution regarding actual VCR C_PN and its distribution. A detailed analysis of the C_PN for VCRs is presented.

This paper describes the evaluation of a single output, online, and time domain modal parameters identification technique based on differential algebra and operational calculus. In addition, an analysis of the frequency response function (FRF) of the system is conducted in a specific set up, emulating its nominal or operational conditions to determine the influence of the non-linearities over the dynamic behavior of the system in those particular magnitudes of deformations; thus, this influence is quantified by a numerical index. This methodology is applied to a wind turbine blade submitted to wind tunnel experiments. The natural frequencies and modal damping ratios of six bending modes associated with the blade are estimated using real-time velocity measurements from one single point of the blade. A comparison with the usual impact hammer modal testing is performed to evaluate and establish the proposed approach’s main contributions. The developed modal parameter identification algorithms are implemented to run into a standard personal computer (PC) where the data acquisition system’s measurements are conditioned and processed. The results show the performance and the fast parametric estimation of the proposed algebraic identification approach.

This study investigates the control of seismic and wind-induced responses in reinforced concrete chimneys, incorporating material nonlinearity and soil–structure interaction. Using the Force Analogy Method (FAM), an innovative approach for nonlinear dynamic analysis, the performance of tuned mass dampers (TMDs) is evaluated under diverse loading scenarios, including seismic sequences with mainshock–aftershock events and wind-induced loads, due to synoptic and hurricane winds, modeled as stochastic processes. The FAM approach enables computationally efficient analysis, effectively capturing the complex interactions between seismic and wind actions across varying soil foundation conditions. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of TMDs in reducing structural responses across various loading and foundation scenarios, emphasizing their efficiency in enhancing the safety and resilience of slender structures. This research provides valuable insights into the application of vibration control strategies for safeguarding critical infrastructure against extreme environmental loads.

The estimation of the aerodynamic characteristics of a rough surface (zero displacement plane $d_0$ and aerodynamic roughness length $z_0$) is important in the simulation of atmospheric boundary layer wind in a wind tunnel, since they are parameters involved in various problems of meteorological and wind engineering activities. In this study, morphometric methods were used to present parameterizations of $d_0$ and $z_0$ as functions of roughness and areal density based on wind tunnel measurements of airflow over a rough surface. Vertical profiles of mean wind speed, turbulence intensity, boundary layer depth, and spectral density functions are presented.