Design of tall residential buildings in Singapore for wind effects

The design of high-rise building is often influenced by wind-induced motions such as accelerations and lateral deflections. Consequently, the building's structural stiffness and dynamic (vibration periods and damping) properties become important parameters in the determination of such motions. The approximate methods and empirical expressions used to quantify these parameters at the design phase tend to yield values significantly different from each other. In view of this, there is a need to examine how actual buildings in the field respond to dynamic wind loading in order to ascertain a more realistic model for the dynamic behavior of buildings. This paper describes the findings from full-scale measurements of the wind-induced response of typical high-rise buildings in Singapore, and recommends an empirical forecast model for periods of vibration of typical buildings in Singapore, an appropriate computer model for determining the periods of vibration, and appropriate expressions which relate the wind speed to accelerations in buildings based on wind tunnel force balance model test and field results.