Performance-based design of tall buildings for wind load and application of response modification factor

In the design of buildings, lateral loading is one of the most important factors considered by structural designers. The concept of performance-based design (PBD) is well developed for seismic load. Whereas, wind design is mainly based on elastic analysis for both serviceability and strength. For tall buildings subject to extreme wind load, inelastic behavior and application of the concept of PBD bear consideration. For seismic design, current practice primarily presumes inelastic behavior of the structure and that energy is dissipated by plastic deformation. However, due to analysis complexity and computational cost, calculations used to predict inelastic behavior are often performed using elastic analysis and a response modification factor (R). Inelastic analysis is optionally performed to check the accuracy of the design. In this paper, a framework for application of an R factor for wind design is proposed. Theoretical background on the application and implementation is provided. Moreover, seismic and wind fatigue issues are explained for the purpose of quantifying the modification factor R for wind design.