Monitoring of wind effects on an instrumented low-rise building during severe tropical storm

A full-scale instrumented low-rise building with gable roof was built at a coastal site with a high incidence of tropical cyclones for monitoring of wind effects on the building during windstorms. This paper presents the field measurements of the wind velocity field around and the wind-induced pressures on the low-rise building during the passage of severe tropical storm Soudelor. Near-ground wind characteristics such as wind speed, wind direction, turbulence intensity, gust factor, turbulence integral length scale and wind velocity spectra were investigated. The wind-induced pressures on the roof of the building were analyzed and discussed. The results revealed that the eave and ridge edges on the roof were subjected to the most severe suction pressures under quartering winds. These suction pressures showed obvious non-Gaussian behavior. The measured results were compared with the provisions of ASCE 7-10 to assess the suitability of the code of practice for the wind-resistant design of low-rise buildings under tropical cyclones. The field study aims to provide useful information that can enhance our understanding of the extreme wind effects on low-rise buildings in an effort to reduce tropical cyclone wind damages to residential buildings.