• Wind and Structures
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.269-281
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• 2005

The paper describes the work of the IAWE Working Group WGF - Extreme Wind Prediction and Zoning, one of the international codification working groups set up in 2000. The topics covered are: the international database of extreme winds, quality assurance and data quality, averaging times, return periods, probability distributions and fitting methods, mixed wind climates, directionality effects, the influence of orography, rare events and simulation methods, long-term climate change, and zoning and mapping. Recommendations are given to promote the future alignment of international codes and standards for wind loading.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.21-34
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• 2022

Gust factor is an important parameter for the conversion between peak gust wind and mean wind speed used for the structural design and wind-related hazard mitigation. The gust factor of typhoon wind is observed to show a significant dispersion and some differences with large-scale weather systems, e.g., monsoons and extratropical cyclones. In this study, insitu measurement data captured by 13 meteorological towers during a strong typhoon Morakot are collected to investigate the statistical characteristics, height and wind speed dependency of the gust factor. Onshore off-sea and off-land winds are comparatively studied, respectively to characterize the underlying terrain effects on the gust factor. The theoretical method of peak factor based on Gaussian assumption is then introduced to compare the gust factor profiles observed in this study and given in some building codes and standards. The results show that the probability distributions of gust factor for both off-sea winds and off-land winds can be well described using the generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution model. Compared with the off-land winds, the off-sea gust factors are relatively smaller, and the probability distribution is more leptokurtic with longer tails. With the increase of height, especially for off-sea winds, the probability distributions of gust factor are more peaked and right-tailed. The scatters of gust factor decrease with the mean wind speed and height. AS/NZ's suggestions are nearly parallel with the measured gust factor profiles below 80m, while the fitting curve of off-sea data below 120m is more similar to AIJ, ASCE and EU.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.111-129
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• 2012

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 sypnoptic events. Wind effects due to other phenomena, such as thunderstorm downbursts, are simply neglected. In this paper, results of recent and ongoing research on this topic in Brazil are presented. The model of the three-dimensional wind velocity field originated from a downburst in a thunderstorm (TS), proposed by Ponte and Riera for engineering applications, is first described. This model allows the generation of a spatially and temporally variable velocity field, which also includes a fluctuating component of the velocity. All parameters are related to meteorological variables, which are susceptible of statistical assessment. An application of the model in the simulation of the wind climate in a region sujected to both EPS and TS winds is discussed next. It is shown that, once the relevant meteorological variables are known, the simulation of the wind excitation for purposes of design of transmission lines, long-span crossings and similar structures is feasible. Complementing the theoretical studies, wind velocity records during a recent TS event in southern Brazil are presented and preliminary conclusions on the validity of the proposed models discussed.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.26-36
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• 2020

An extreme value analysis of metocean data which include wave, wind, and current data is a prerequisite for the operation and survival of offshore structures. The purpose of this study was to provide information about the return wave, wind, and current values for the Barents Sea using extreme value analysis. Hindcast datasets of the Global Reanalysis of Ocean Waves 2012 (GROW2012) for a waves, winds and currents were obtained from the Oceanweather Inc. The Gumbel distribution, 2 and 3 parameters Weibull distributions and log-normal distribution were used for the extreme value analysis. The least square method was used to estimate the parameters for the extreme value distribution. The return values, including the significant wave height, spectral peak wave period, wind speed and current speed at surface, were calculated and it will be utilized to design offshore structures to be operated in the Barents Sea.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.469-482
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• 2022

The generalized extreme value distribution (GEVD) is frequently used to fit the block maximum of environmental parameters such as the annual maximum wind speed. There are several methods for estimating the parameters of the GEV distribution, including the least-squares method (LSM). However, the application of the LSM with the expected order statistics has not been reported. This study fills this gap by proposing a fitting method based on the expected order statistics. The study also proposes a plotting position to approximate the expected order statistics; the proposed plotting position depends on the distribution shape parameter. The use of this approximation for distribution fitting is carried out. Simulation analysis results indicate that the developed fitting procedure based on the expected order statistics or its approximation for GEVD is effective for estimating the distribution parameters and quantiles. The values of the probability plotting correlation coefficient that may be used to test the distributional hypothesis are calculated and presented. The developed fitting method is applied to extreme thunderstorm and non-thunderstorm winds for several major cities in Canada. Also, the implication of using the GEVD and Gumbel distribution to model the extreme wind speed on the structural reliability is presented and elaborated.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• v.1
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• pp.390-393
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• 2006

It is well known that synthetic aperture radar (SAR) provides information on ocean winds and surface waves. SAR data are of particularly high value in extreme weather conditions, as radar is able to penetrate the clouds providing information on different ocean surface processes. In this presentation some recent results on SAR observation of extreme wind and ocean wave conditions is summarised. Particular emphasize is put on the investigation of typhoons and extratropical cyclones in the North Pacific. The study is based on the use of ENVISAT ASAR wide swath images. Wide swath and scansar data are well suited for a detailed investigation of cyclones. Several examples like, e.g., typhoon Talim will be presented, demonstrating that these data provide valuable information on the two dimensional structure of the both the wind and the ocean wave field. Comparisons of the SAR observation with parametric and numerical model data will be discussed. Some limitations of standard imaging models like, e.g., CMOD5 for the use in extreme wind conditions are explained and modifications are proposed. Finally the study summarizes the capabilities of new high resolution TerraSAR-X mission to be launched in October 2006 with respect to the monitoring of extreme weather conditions. The mission will provide a spatialresolution up to 1m and has full polarimetric capabilities.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.95-104
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• 2023

The latest revision of AS/NZS 1170.2 incorporates some new research and knowledge on strong winds, climate change, and shape factors for new structures of interest such as solar panels. Unlike most other jurisdictions, Australia and New Zealand covers a vast area of land, a latitude range from 11° to 47°S climatic zones from tropical to cold temperate, and virtually every type of extreme wind event. The latter includes gales from synoptic-scale depressions, severe convectively-driven downdrafts from thunderstorms, tropical cyclones, downslope winds, and tornadoes. All except tornadoes are now covered within AS/NZS 1170.2. The paper describes the main features of the 2021 edition with emphasis on the new content, including the changes in the regional boundaries, regional wind speeds, terrain-height, topographic and direction multipliers. A new 'climate change multiplier' has been included, and the gust and turbulence profiles for over-water winds have been revised. Amongst the changes to the provisions for shape factors, values are provided for ground-mounted solar panels, and new data are provided for curved roofs. New methods have been given for dynamic response factors for poles and masts, and advice given for acceleration calculations for high-rise buildings and other dynamically wind-sensitive structures.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• v.1
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• pp.142-145
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• 2006

The synergism of active and passive microwave techniques for hurricane ocean wind remote sensing is explored. We performed the analysis of Windsat data for Atlantic hurricanes in 2003-2005. The polarimetric third Stokes parameter observations from the Windsat 10, 18 and 37 GHz channels were collocated with the ocean surface winds from the Holland wind model, the NOAA HWind wind vectors and the Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS) operated by the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). The collocated data were binned as a function of wind speed and wind direction, and were expanded by sinusoidal series of the relative azimuth angles between wind and observation directions. The coefficients of the sinusoidal series, corrected for atmospheric attenuation, have been used to develop an empirical geophysical model function (GMF). The Windsat GMF for extreme high wind compares very well with the aircraft radiometer and radar measurements.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.153-161
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• 2023

Wind speed data from Nepal and adjoining countries have been analyzed to estimate an extreme wind speed climatology for the region. Previously wind speed information for Nepal was adopted from the Indian National Standard and applied to two orographically different regions: above and below 3000 m elevation respectively. Comparisons of the results of this analysis are made with relevant codes and standards. The study confirms that the assigned basic wind speed of 47 m/s for the plains and hills of Nepal (below 3000 m) is appropriate, however, data to substantiate a basic wind speed of 55 m/s above 3000 m is unavailable. Using a composite analysis of 15 geographically similar stations, the study also generated 435 years of annual maxima wind data and fitted them to Type I and Type III extreme value distributions. The results suggest that Type III distribution may better represent the data. The findings are also consistent with predictions made by Holmes and Weller (2002) and to a certain extent those of Sarkar et al. (2014), but lower than the analysis undertaken by Lakshmanan et al. (2009) for northern India. The study also highlights that the use of a load factor of 1.5 on wind load implies lower strength design MRI's of around 260 years compared to the 700 years of ASCE 7-22.

• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.797-810
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• 2017

The Korean peninsula is exposed to typhoons every year. Typhoons cause huge socioeconomic damage because tropical cyclones tend to occur with strong winds and heavy precipitation. In order to understand the complex dependence structure between strong winds and heavy precipitation, the copula links a set of univariate distributions to a multivariate distribution and has been actively studied in the field of hydrology. In this study, we carried out analysis using data of wind speed and precipitation collected from the weather stations in Busan and Jeju. Log-Normal, Gamma, and Weibull distributions were considered to explain marginal distributions of the copula. Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Cramer-von-Mises, and Anderson-Darling test statistics were employed for testing the goodness-of-fit of marginal distribution. Observed pseudo data were calculated through inverse transformation method for establishing the copula. Elliptical, archimedean, and extreme copula were considered to explain the dependence structure between strong winds and heavy precipitation. In selecting the best copula, we employed the Cramer-von-Mises test and cross-validation. In Busan, precipitation according to average wind speed followed t copula and precipitation just as maximum wind speed adopted Clayton copula. In Jeju, precipitation according to maximum wind speed complied Normal copula and average wind speed as stated in precipitation followed Frank copula and maximum wind speed according to precipitation observed Husler-Reiss copula.