Calibration of the quasi-static and peak-factor approaches to the assessment of wind loads against the method of Cook and Mayne

Abstract

The quasi-static approach to the assessment of peak wind loads assumes that all fluctuations of load are due to corresponding gusts in the approach flow, an assumption known not to hold exactly. The peak-factor approach is a pragmatic approach which seeks to alleviate this deficiency, but which requires calibration. The method of Cook and Mayne, however, assesses the risk of peak wind loads directly in a fully probabilistic manner. This latter method is used to calibrate the two earlier approaches using model-scale data for a range of typical building shapes. The quasi-static approach is shown to perform badly. The peak-factor approach is shown to perform adequately once the calibration factor has been determined. © 1982.