Probabilities of wind-induced peak pressures on a low building

The Texas Tech University's Wind Engineering Research Field Laboratory (WERFL) provides an opportunity for full-scale measurement of wind induced pressures. The one story test building can be rotated to provide a control over the angle of attack of wind- The simple rectangular shape of the building and the possibility of proper orientation of the building to the approaching wind direction, provides opportunity to measure wind pressures in the various wind flow zones, such as windward, wake, separation, reattachment and roof comer zones. The building is instmmented with pressure taps and transducers to record pressures in all these zones.

The meteorological tower at WERFL has various wind sensors and other instmments to measure the meteorological parameters of the wind. Each data mn is typically of 15-minute duration. Figures 1.1 and 1.2 show typical time histories of pressure record and wind speed record, respectively, obtained at the WERFL. The abscissa indicates time for both the cases, while, pressure and wind speed are indicated on the ordinate for the two figures, respectively. The pressure indicated in Figure 1.1 is in the form of non dimensional pressure coefficient- The peak pressure coefficient occurs randomly in the record.