This paper presents an aeroelastic analysis procedure to highlight the influence of wind velocity on the structural damping and frequency of a long span cable-stayed bridge. Frequency dependent self-excited forces in terms of flutter derivatives are expressed as continuous functions using rational function approximation technique. The aeroelastically modified structural equation of motion is expressed in terms of frequency independent modal state-space parameters. The modal logarithmic dampings and frequencies corresponding to a particular wind speed are then determined from the eigen solution of the state matrix.

The insertion of steel braces has become a common technique to limit the deformability of steel framed buildings subjected to wind loads. However, when this technique is inadequate to keep floor accelerations within acceptable levels of human comfort, dampers placed in series with the steel braces can be adopted. To check the effectiveness of braces equipped with viscoelastic (VEDs) or friction dampers (FRDs), a numerical investigation is carried out focusing attention on a three-bay fifteen-storey steel framed building with K-braces. More precisely, three alternative structural solutions are examined for the purpose of controlling wind-induced vibrations: the insertion of additional diagonal braces; the insertion of additional diagonal braces equipped with dampers; the insertion of both additional diagonal braces and dampers supported by the existing K-braces. Additional braces and dampers are designed according to a simplified procedure based on a proportional stiffness criterion. A dynamic analysis is carried out in the time domain using a step-by-step initial-stress-like iterative procedure. Along-wind loads are considered at each storey assuming the time histories of the wind velocity, for a return period $T_r=5$ years, according to an equivalent wind spectrum technique. The behaviour of the structural members, except dampers, is assumed linear elastic. A VED and an FRD are idealized by a six-element generalized model and a bilinear (rigid-plastic) model, respectively. The results show that the structure with damped additional braces can be considered, among those examined, the most effective to control vibrations due to wind, particularly the floor accelerations. Moreover, once the stiffness of the additional braces is selected, the VEDs are slightly more efficient than the FRDs, because they, unlike the FRDs, dissipate energy also for small amplitude vibrations.

Past experience indicates that the majority of failures of electrical transmission tower structures occurred during high intensity wind events, such as downbursts. The wind load distribution associated with these localized events is different than the boundary layer wind profile that is typically used in the design of structures. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study represents the first comprehensive investigation that assesses the effect of varying the downburst parameters on the structural performance of a transmission line structure. The study focuses on a guyed tower structure and is conducted numerically using, as a case study, one of the towers that failed in Manitoba, Canada, during a downburst event in 1996. The study provides an insight about the spatial and time variation of the downburst wind field. It also assesses the variation of the tower members' internal forces with the downburst parameters. Finally, the structural behaviour of the tower under critical downburst configurations is described and is compared to that resulting from the boundary layer normal wind load conditions.

This paper assesses the damage to high-set rectangular-plan houses with low-pitch gable roofs (built in the 1960 and 70s in the northern parts of Australia) to wind speeds experienced in tropical cyclones. The study estimates the likely failure mode and percentage of failure for a representative proportion of houses with increasing wind speed. Structural reliability concepts are used to determine the levels of damage. The wind load and the component connection strengths are treated as random variables with log-normal distributions. These variables are derived from experiments, structural analysis, damage investigations and experience. This study also incorporates progressive failures and considers the inter-dependency between the structural components in the house, when estimating the types and percentages of the overall failures in the population of these houses. The progressively increasing percentage of houses being subjected to high internal pressures resulting from damage to the envelope is considered. Results from this study also compare favourably with levels of damage and related modes of failure for high-set houses observed in post-cyclone damage surveys.

Wind action is a factor of fundamental importance in the structural design of light or slender constructions. Codes for structural design usually assume that the incident mean wind velocity is parallel to the ground, which constitutes a valid simplification for frequent winds caused by meteorological phenomena such as Extratropical Storms (EPS) or Tropical Storms. Wind effects due to other phenomena, such as thunderstorms, and its combination with EPS winds in so-called squall lines, are simply neglected. In this paper a model that describes the three-dimensional wind velocity field originated from a downburst in a thunderstorm (TS) is proposed. The model is based on a semi empirical representation of an axially-symmetrical flow line pattern that describes a stationary field, modulated by a function that accounts for the evolution of the wind velocity with time. The model allows the generation of a spatially and temporally variable velocity field, which also includes a fluctuating component of the velocity. All parameters employed in the model are related to meteorological variables, which are susceptible of statistical assessment. A background wind is also considered, in order to account for the translational velocity of the thunderstorm, normally due to local wind conditions. When the translation of the TS is caused by an EPS, a squall line is produced, causing the highest wind velocities associated with TS events. The resulting vertical velocity profiles were also studied and compared with existing models, such as the profiles proposed by Vicroy, et al. (1992) and Wood and Kwok (1998). The present model predicts horizontal velocity profiles that depend on the distance to the storm center, effect not considered by previous models, although the various proposals are globally compatible. The model can be applied in any region of interest, once the relevant meteorological variables are known, to simulate the excitation due to TS winds in the design of transmission lines, long-span crossings, cable-stayed bridges, towers or similar structures.