Monitoring of typhoon effects on a super-tall building in Hong Kong

A super-tall building with height of 420m and 88 floors is located in central Hong Kong. Field monitoring of wind effects on the high-rise structure was conducted during the passage of several typhoons on the basis of a wind and movement monitoring system installed in the building. Field data such as wind speed, wind direction, pressures on cladding, acceleration and displacement responses were simultaneously recorded during the typhoons and then analyzed. Typhoon wind parameters including turbulence intensity, gust factor, peak factor, turbulence integral length scale and power spectral density were presented and discussed. The dynamic properties of the high-rise structure were determined from the field measurements and compared with those calculated at the design stage. The damping ratios of the super-tall building were evaluated by a random decrement technique, which demonstrates amplitude-dependent characteristics. The relationships between the structural dynamic responses and the approaching wind speed were analyzed. Wind tunnel tests were conducted to investigate the wind effects on the super-tall building. The field-measured acceleration responses were found to be consistent with the model test results. Finally, the serviceability performance of the super-tall building during the typhoons was assessed on the basis of the field measurement results. The findings of the paper are expected to be of considerable interest and practical use to professionals and researchers involved in wind-resistant designs of super-tall buildings. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.