Tornado-induced wind loads on a low-rise building: Influence of swirl ratio, translation speed and building parameters

Current approaches to the estimation of wind-induced wind effects on tall buildings are based largely on 1970s and 1980s technology, and were shown to result in some cases in errors of up to 40%. Improvements are needed in: (i) the description of direction-dependent aerodynamics; (ii) the description of the direction-dependent extreme wind climate; (iii) the estimation of inertial wind effects induced by fluctuating aerodynamic forces acting on the entire building envelope; (iv) the estimation of uncertainties inherent in the wind effects; and (v) the use of applied wind forces, calculated inertial forces, and uncertainty estimates, to obtain via influence coefficients accurate and risk-consistent estimates of wind-induced internal forces or demand-to-capacity ratios for any individual structural member. Methods used in current wind engineering practice are especially deficient when the distribution of the wind loads over the building surface and their effects at levels other than the building base are not known, as is the case when measurements are obtained by the High-Frequency Force Balance method, particularly in the presence of aerodynamic interference effects due to neighboring buildings. The paper describes a procedure that makes it possible to estimate wind-induced internal forces and demand-to-capacity ratios in any individual member by: developing aerodynamic and wind climatological data sets, as well as aerodynamic/climatological directional interaction models; significantly improving the quality of the design via rigorous structural engineering methods made possible by modern computational resources; and properly accounting for knowledge uncertainties. The paper covers estimates of wind effects required for allowable stress design, wherein knowledge uncertainties pertaining to the parameters that determine the wind loading are not considered, as well as estimates required for strength design, in which these uncertainties need to be accounted for explicitly.

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Sea Surface Salinity Response to Tropical Cyclones Based on Satellite Observations

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13030420 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 420

Author(s):

Jingru Sun ◽

Gabriel Vecchi ◽

Brian Soden

Keyword(s):

Tropical Cyclones ◽

Sea Surface ◽

Sea Surface Salinity ◽

Surface Salinity ◽

Translation Speed ◽

Salinity Stratification ◽

Left Hand ◽

In Situ Data ◽

Salinity Response ◽

The Right

Multi-year records of satellite remote sensing of sea surface salinity (SSS) provide an opportunity to investigate the climatological characteristics of the SSS response to tropical cyclones (TCs). In this study, the influence of TC winds, rainfall and preexisting ocean stratification on SSS evolution is examined with multiple satellite-based and in-situ data. Global storm-centered composites indicate that TCs act to initially freshen the ocean surface (due to precipitation), and subsequently salinify the surface, largely through vertical ocean processes (mixing and upwelling), although regional hydrography can lead to local departure from this behavior. On average, on the day a TC passes, a strong SSS decrease is observed. The fresh anomaly is subsequently replaced by a net surface salinification, which persists for weeks. This salinification is larger on the right (left)-hand side of the storm motion in the Northern (Southern) Hemisphere, consistent with the location of stronger turbulent mixing. The influence of TC intensity and translation speed on the ocean response is also examined. Despite having greater precipitation, stronger TCs tend to produce longer-lasting, stronger and deeper salinification especially on the right-hand side of the storm motion. Faster moving TCs are found to have slightly weaker freshening with larger area coverage during the passage, but comparable salinification after the passage. The ocean haline response in four basins with different climatological salinity stratification reveals a significant impact of vertical stratification on the salinity response during and after the passage of TCs.

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