Loss Prevention Council

Glossary of Wind Terms used in Construction

In association with
the Wind Engineering Society

Edited by Paul Freathy, PF Consultants

Julian Salt, Loss Prevention Council
LPR 15: l! 99

WIND
-ENGINEERING

IDNDR
1990

SOCIETY

suudhp I C u b d Pmumlh

2000

Glossary o f Wind Terms

FOREWORD

During the 1990s the United Nationshas been promoting the InternationalDecade of Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) as ameansbetter to understand and mitigate the effects of extreme natural hazards. As part of its effort in this area the UK Wind Engineering Society (WES) and the Natural Perils Advisory Committee of the LPC became aware of the gap that sometimes exists between the providers and users of technical information. This can lead to expert advice being misinterpreted so that wrong actions are taken and can increase the risk of damage ,and injury. As asteptowardsbridgingthis gap, the Wind Engineering Society decided to prepare this glossary ofterms used inwind engineering. The Loss Prevention Council kindly agreed to provide a large part of the funding to write and publish the document.

As the title suggests, the terms contained within are mainly wind terms related to construction. It is not a meteorological reference, nor is it a textbook on wind engineering. The intention is to define common terms that engineers, designers, insurers, local authorities and others may comeacross in the context of wind action on structures. These terms extend from some meteorological terms, through engineeringtermsdescribingstructural response, to some of the terms used to describe building elements. The definitions have been written in a way that tries to balance technical correctness with the need to convey understanding to those not immersed in this subject. We hope we have got the balance about right but ask for your understanding where you may disagree. We would welcome feedback from users so that this document may, in the future, be revised and improved.
Finally, as editors we would like to thank all those in insurance companies and in the WES who gave freely of their time to read through the early drafts and correct the most glaring of the errors. Any that remain are our fault not theirs.
Paul Freathy, PF Consultants Chairman, WES Working Group on IDNDR

Julian Salt, Loss Prevention Council Manager, Natural Perils

e-mail: julian@lpc.co.uk

e-mail: paul@pfconsultants.co.uk July 1999

Glossaty o f Wind Terms

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The following deserve thanks for contributions to earlier drafts of the glossary: 1.John Pelican and Ray Facer: Legal and General

2.

David Crichton: Commercial General Union Alan Aldridge: Commercial General Union Jim Batten: Royal & SunAlliance Members of theWind Engineering Society includingDick Barnard, Chris Baker, Stephen Ledbetter, Brian Lee and Tom Wyatt.

3.

4.

5.

Glossay, o f Wind Terms

ACCELERATION DUE TO GRAVITY

The standard acceleration of an object due to the force of gravity is 9.81m/s2 at sea level which equates to a force of 9.81N/kg.

AERODYNAMIC INTERFERENCE
This describes the effect that onebuilding or structuremay have on another. Strictly its effect can be both beneficial and adverse but it is most commonly used when the effect worsens the load or response on the other structure. Examples include wake buffeting, funnelling and enhanced dynamic response. A beneficial example would be shelter.

AERODYNAMIC RESPONSE
The response of a structureis generally usedto describe the motion that it makes under the action of wind loading. This may be a static response, where the structure deflects under a steady load and stays in that deflected position until the load is changed or removed. It may also refer to a dynamic response where the deflection of the structure changes continuously with the short: term fluctuations in the applied loading.

AEROELASTIC RESPONSE
This is a particular example of a dynamic response where the behaviour of the structure as it responds to the load modifies the effect of the wind leading to a changed, often more severe, response. The famous Tacoma Narrows Bridge failure is a good example of an aeroelastic response. Some types of aeroelastic response lead to an increasing response until failure occurs, while others reach a limit. Even a limited response can cause problems due to fatigue damage. Aeroelastic behaviour can also lead to aerodynamic damping which limits response - see Damping.

AEROFOIL
An aerofoil is another word for a body shapedlike an aircraft wing.

AIR DENSITY
The standard density for air in the UK, in SI units, is 1.23kg/m3 at sea level. Air density varies with temperature, pressure and altitude. It can be significantly lower at highaltitude sites. This will affect the loads on structureswhich are given typically by F = /ZpV.C,.A where p is air density, V is the wind speed, C, is a nondimensional pressure coefficient and A is the area of the structure or element.
See Units

AIR PERMEABILITY
Air permeability is used to describe the leakiness of a structure or element. The higher the permeability the easier it is for air to pass through the structure. For example, an array of interlocking roof tiles would tend to have a relatively high permeability whereas a solid brick wall would not.

ALTITUDE
Altitude describes the heightofaparticular site above a datum level. It is not generally used to describe the height of the structure above the local ground level. Usually altitude is given in metres above mean sea level (mAMSL).

ALTITUDE FACTOR
This is the factor used in the British Standard for wind loading (BS 6399-2) to account for the fact that wind speeds increase with altitude. The altitude factor increases basic wind speeds by 10% per 1OOm altitude. In the Standard, the altitude factor is in fact a combined altitude and topography factor that also accounts for the effects of local ground slopes that may accelerate the wind speed.

Glossary of Wind Terms

ANEMOMETER
This is a device used to measure wind speed. There are several different types of anemometer, each with their own characteristics: cup anemometer - the most common type, uses shapedcups, usually three, connected by horizontal arms to a central axis. The speed of rotation is the measure of wind speed. This type of anemometerhas a degree of inertia related to the size and weight of the cups which means that it cannot respond quickly enough tomeasure very short gusts (typically less than 1-3 sec). rotating vane anemometer - similar to a cup anemometerusing propellerstyle vanesrather than cups, measuring airflow parallelto theaxis of the rotor. ultrasonic anemometer - expensive and highly accurate anemometer, used for research, that sends ultrasound waves between electrodes. The time taken for the wave to traverse the distance between the electrodes is affected by thewind speed and this is used as the measure. Normally, each anemometer has three pairs of electrodes set at different angles so that all three components of wind speed can be measured. hot wire, or thermal, anemometer- works by passing a current through a wire or film and adjusting the current to maintain a constant temperature in the wire as the passing wind cools it. The current drawn is a measure of the windspeed. Mostly used in laboratory and other test applications. laser Doppler anemometer (LDA) - works by reflecting laser light back from particles in the airstream. Mostly used in laboratory applications.

ANTI-CYCLONE
An anti-cyclone is a region of high atmospheric pressure (marked as HIGH on a weather map). In the Northern hemisphere the winds tend to rotate clockwise around the centre of the high pressure. In the Southern hemisphere this is reversed.

Anti-cyclone

ASPECT RATIO
Aspect ratio is commonly defined as the ratio between two orthogonal dimensions of an area - normally the longest divided by the shortest. So, for a tall building, the aspect ratio would be height + breadth. It is often used as a way to describe the relative ease with which air can flow around thesides and ends of the structure. For structureswithonlyone free end(most buildings) it is morecorrect to use (2 x height) + breadth but this definition is not always employed.

ATMOSPHERE A generic term used to describe the air and weather systems aroundtheearth.
Sometimes also used as a descriptionof pressure - for example, one atmosphere would describe a pressure as being equal to that exerted by a column of mercury 76cm high at 0C under standard gravity; i.e. at sea level.

Glossary o f Wind Terms

ATMOSPHERIC BOUNDARYLAYER
The region of the atmosphereclosest to thesurface, where the windspeed is reduced and turbulence is increased due to surface obstructions. This is what causes the variation of wind speed with height, the wind profile.
See alro Velocity profile

ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE
There is a lot of air above us in the atmosphere and this exerts a pressure on everything called atmospheric pressure. Although we are nor conscious of this pressureit always exists and can be measured bya barometer. It is the value of pressure given on weather maps. Standard atmospheric pressure is 1.O 13bar = 10.33m of water = 14.696psi.
=

1.O 1 3 x 1 05Pa= 76Omm of mercury

See Units

ATMOSPHERIC STABILITY
The atmosphere is said to be stable if when a parcel of air is displaced its temperature relative to its new surroundings is such that it will tend to return to its original position. For example, this would be the case if after an upwards displacement the parcel of air was colder than its surroundings and would therefore sink back to its original position. When there is no tendency for the displaced air either to continue moving up or to return to its original position the atmosphere is said to be neutrally stable. This is generally the case in strong winds when there is so much mixing of the air through turbulence that the temperature profile with height is uniform - at least within the region of interest close to the ground.

ATTACHED FLOW
Thisterm is used to describe the typeof flow thatwould be seen around a streamlined body, such as an aerofoil or other smooth shape. It implies that the wind is passing smoothly over the body without separating and without causing large amounts of turbulence in the wake of the body.

AVERAGING TIME
For time varying quantities, such as wind speed, it is important to specify over what time period a meanvalue is averaged. The longer the averaging time, the more likely it is that the shorter duration peaks of wind speed will be less significant and the resulting wind speed quoted will be lower. Commonly used averaging times in wind engineering are one hour (for so-called mean wind speeds) and 1-15sec for gust speeds, depending on the size of the structure being considered. Note that mean speeds are also sometimes quoted as 10-min averages (especially in Europe). There is only a small difference between 10-min and 1-hr averages typically. In the past the USA has used an alternative definition of wind speed - the Fastest mile wind speed.

See Fastest mile wind speed

AZIMUTH
The direction of the wind or of the building relative to north.

Glossary o f Wind Terms

BACKING
A meteorological term used to describe an anticlockwise change in wind direction - e.g. from northerly to westerly

BAROMETER
An instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure.

BAROMETRIC PRESSURE
See Atmospheric pressure

BATTEN
A piece of timber commonly used in roofing construction which is fixed to the rafters and runs parallel to the ridge and eaves. Tiles and slates are hung and/or nailed on to the battens.

BATTEN SPACE
In tiled or slated roofs, the gap between the outer roof covering, hanging on the battens, and the inner layer.

BEAUFORT SCALE
A method of describing wind speed that originated from observations of the effect of the wind on differentitems.Nowadaysthere are specific wind speed bands ascribed to each Beaufort Force. Force 0: Force 1: Force 2: Force 3: Force 4: Force 5: Force 6: Force 7: Force 8: Force 9: Force 10: Force 11: less than 1 knot (< 0.5m/s) 1 - 3 knots (0.5
- 1.5m/s)

4 - 6 knots (2.1 - 3.lm/s) 7 - 10 knots (3.6 - 5.lm/s)

11 - 16 knots (5.7
- 8.2mls)

17 - 21 knots (8.8 - 10.8m/s) 22 - 27 knots (11.3 28 - 33 knots (14.4

- 13.9m/s)
- 17.0mls)

34 - 40 knots (17.5 - 20.6m/s)

41 - 47 knots (21.1
- 24.2m/s) - 28.3m/s)

48 - 55 knots (24.7

56 - 63 knots (28.8 - 32.4m/s) 63 knots (> 32.4m/s)

Force 12: more than

BERNOULLIS LAW
In wind engineering, for smooth, steady flow a simplified form of Bernoullis Law states that the sum of thestatic pressure and the dynamic pressure (= total pressure) remains constant between positions (if there is no significant change in height). This is approximately true for many wind applications, except in turbulent flows behind buildings or otherroughness. With zero wind speed the totalpressure equals the static pressure (in this case the atmospheric pressure). When the wind blows the dynamic pressure (=/lpV)increases so the static pressure must reduce. This effect explains why there are suctions on building surfaces where the local flow is accelerating.
8

Glossary o f Wind Terms

BLUFF BODY
The opposite of astreamlined body. Au does not pass smoothly around a bluff body but will separate at some point,leading to areas of reversed flow and high turbulence. Most buildings and structures are bluff bodies, often with sharp edges. Separation, when it occurs will always take place at those sharp edges, which makes the behaviour of the wind very predictable and independent of the wind speed. This is an important reason why results from wind tunnel models can be scaled up to full size.

BOUNDARY LAYER As the wind flows over a surface the roughness of that surface causes the air close to
it to slow down. Eventually, this will cause the flow to separate from the surface leaving a boundarylayer beneath which the flow may be reversedand turbulent. This happens on all surfaces, including the earth's surface where the roughness of trees, buildings and other obstructions helps to create the atmospheric boundary layer.

BUFFETTING
Buffetting describes the time varying loading of structure by a turbulent wind. In natural wind there will normally be no dominant frequency so that little dynamic amplification of the response occurs. However when the turbulence is caused or modified by the wake of an upwind obstruction there may be significantly more energy at frequencies close to those of the downwind structure. This is called Wake Buffetting and it may cause a significantly amplified response, especially when the upwind and downwind structures are similar in size and shape.

BUILDING DIMENSIONS
The dimensions described below have specific meanings in the British Standard for wind loading (BS 6399-2) in addition to their more common general meaning. Height (H)
:

The height of the building, or part of above its local surroundings.

building, a

Length (L): Width (W): Downwind length (D):

The longest plan dimension of the building. The shortest plan dimension of the building. The plan dimensionofthebuildinginthewind direction.

m5
L and B

WandD

Glossary o f Wind Terms

Crosswindbreadth (B): Effective height (He): The

The plandimensionofthebuildingperpendicular to the wind direction. heightof the building, or part, adjusted for the effects of shelter from upwind obstructions (where applicable).

Diagonal dimension (a):

A dimension taken diagonally across that part of a

structurewhich is contributing to the load effect being calculated. This is used to allow for the effect of the spatial correlation of gusts across the surface.

BUOYANCY
This describes the tendency of air or other fluid to rise relative to its surroundings. For example, air warmer than its surroundings has positive buoyancy and tends to rise, whereas colderair has negative buoyancy and tends to sink. This is most important in assessing the behaviour of chimney plumes or ventilation systems.

CALM
Refers to a Beaufort Scale Force 0. In tables of wind speed from the Meteorological Office it refers to mean wind speeds of less than 1 knot.

CDF
See Cumulative distribution function

CFD
See Computational fluid dynamics

CILL A horizontal structural framing member at the

base of a curtain wall and usually supporting the lowest run of glass areas, windows, panels or doors.

COLD FRONT A front is described as a cold front when, as it passes any ground location, colder
air replaces the warmer air previously there. The usual symbols for a cold front on a weather map are solid triangles shown along the line of the front. They point towards the direction the front is moving. As the front passes a location winds will change direction - always veering (e.g. from west to north).

Isobars

COMFORT CRITERIA

*
Cold front

When assessing the suitability of the wind environment around a development it is necessary to set some guidelines to define what is acceptable - so-called comfort criteria. There are many different sets of criteria in use but thebest will include wind speed ranges that take account of gustiness and define limits for different situations. For example, stronger winds can be tolerated if people walk briskly through an area than if they are sitting down. Comfortcriteria must also be flexible enough to reflect the location. In warm climates some wind is desirable to keep temperatures down.
10

Glossary o f Wind Terms

See also Wind environment

COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS

Computational Fluid Dynamics is often abbreviated to CFD. It is a generic title for computer models that seek to predict the behaviour of fluid flows around and through structures. At the time of writingthese models are developing rapidly and their ability to deal with complex flows is improving. However, there are limitations on the accuracy of results, especially in complex turbulent flows such as would occur around typical sharp-edged buildings. As with all forms oftesting and analysis, the accuracy of results depends on theskill and experience of the user. Potential users are strongly advised to seek expert help to ensure meaningful results.

CONVECTION
Convection, in this context,refers to the vertical motion of air caused by heating at ground level or cooling due to precipitation. Convective activity in the atmosphere can give rise to higher gust wind speeds at ground level than would be expected from the average wind speed existing at a site. The most striking examples of this type of weather are thunderstorms.

CORNER VORTEX
When thewind strikes the corner of a building it must divide and pass around and over the building. This can give rise to strong vortices on the roof, leading away from the corner. These vortices can be particularly strong where the roof is flat or of low pitch. Strong rotating windspeeds in thevortices create very strong suctions (see Bernoullis Law). These suctions can be the main design consideration for flat or low pitch roofs.

COUNTERBATTENS
Counterbattens are used on a roof where the rafters have been covered - for example by insulation or sarking board. They are usually strips of timber laid from eaves to ridge and normally fixed through to the rafters beneath. They are required to be able to fix the battens while still retaining a clear drainage path for any water that may occasionally get through the main roof covering.

CRITICAL VELOCITY
This term can have a range of applications but most will refer to a wind speed at which some serious response will occur in a structure.A good example would be the wind speed at which the vortex shedding frequencyequals the structural frequency, leading potentially to large amplitude oscillations.
See Strouhal number

CROSSWIND
Crosswind describes a building response in the direction across (or perpendicular to) the wind direction.

CUMULATIVE DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION

A probability distribution that describes the likelihood of occurrence for events that are less than a particular value.

CURTATN WALLING
A form of wall construction that only bears the loads directly acting on it and not any of the other structural loads such as floor dead loads etc. It is normally supported from the primary building structure at each floorlevel. Different types of curtain wall include:
11

Glossary o f Wind Terms

Stick wall - a curtain wall assembled at site from aluminium (normally) profiles to form a grid that carries glazing and opaque infill panels. Unitised wall - a curtain wall pre-assembled into units of storey height and one or two glazing units in width. It is supported from the floors of the primary building structure. Panelised wall - a curtain wall pre-assembled into panels the size of a structural bay and supported from the columnsof the primary building structure.

CYCLONE A region of low atmospheric pressure, marked with the word LOW on a weather
map. Winds rotate anti-clockwise around a cyclone in the northern hemisphere. Cyclones tend to produce the strongest wind storms in Europe. Tropical cyclones are a particular form of cyclone, more severe than in the temperate regions. See also Tropical cyclone

Cyclone or depression

DAMPING
Damping describes the ability of a structure to absorb energy and thereby to control any large response to a dynamic load. Examples that contribute to damping are micro-cracks in materials that lead to rubbing between surfaces creating heat or movement in, for example, bolted connections. Damping is most often quoted either as a damping ratio (usually written as or as or as a logarithmic decrement (6). Both parameters describe the speed at which the oscillations of a structure would die down if left to do so naturally. Critical damping is said to be present if a displaced structure returns to its rest position with no oscillation and no overshoot. Typical values of damping ratio are a few percent of critical. For such low values of damping ratio there is a direct relationship with the logarithmic decrement: 6=27~5 (or 27~5).

6)

DENSITY
Describes the mass per unit volume of amaterial - for the value for air, seeAit density. May also describethe coverage of buildings in an area (plan area density) where it would be in the form of the ratio of the total plan area of all buildings to the overall land area.

DEPRESSION
See Cyclone

DESIGN RISK
The design risk describes the notional probability that failure will occur. It will be a combination of the probability of an extreme load occurring and the probability of structural resistance being inadequate for that load. The notional risk should vary according to the type of structure as well as the economic and social consequences of failure. Typical target values in the UK range from about 10-3 per annum to 10-6per annum.

DESIGN WIND SPEED

The standard design wind speed for buildings in the UK has an annual probability
12

Glossary o f Wind Terms

of exceedence of 2%per annum. Thatis, there is a 2% chance of the specified speed occurring each year. Other values of exceedence probability are used in particular fields of activity; for example, 0.83% per annum for bridges and 0.01% per annum for nuclear installations.
See also Return period

DIVERGENT OSCILLATION A divergent oscillation is one in whichthere is no natural limit to the magnitude of
the oscillation. If not checked by removal of the load or other restraint, a divergent oscillation will ultimately lead to structural failure.

DOMAIN
The area being used in a computational model to volume) of a flow problem. represent the whole area (or

DOMINANT OPENING
This term is used in the British Standard BS 6399-2 to describe an opening in a building that, by virtue of its large size relative to all the other openings, cracks and gaps, greatly influences the pressure inside the building.

DOUBLE F A W E A multi-layer wall typically of glass construction. A deep cavity is provided behind
the outer layer to allow ventilation through openings in the inner layer.

DOWNBURST A strong downdraft resulting in an outward burst of damaging winds on ornear the
ground.Downburst winds can produce damage similar to a strong tornado. Although usually associated with thunderstorms, downbursts can occur with showers too weak to produce thunder.

DOWNSTREAM
In the direction that the wind is blowing.

DRAG
Describes a force in thedirection of the oncoming wind. The term drag comes from aeronautical applications where the oncoming flow is the result of the forward motion of the aircraft so that the drag force tends to holdback that forward motion.

DRIVING RAIN
The combination of wind and rain tending to drive the rain on to a building facade and potentially into any gaps or cracks in the system. Prolonged exposure to driving rain may also cause long-term soaking of masonry or other claddings with the possibility of water migrating through the building interior.

DYNAMIC AUGMENTATION
The enhancement of the response of a structure due to structural characteristics or due to interference from other structures.
13

Glossary o f

Wind Tprms

DYNAMIC HEAD
Another way of describing dynamic pressure. When described as a head it may be given in units related to the height ofa column of somefluid - for example, inches of water or mm of mercury.

See Dynamic pressure

DYNAMIC PRESSURE
The pressure that is felt when in a moving airstream. Normally defined as q = /2pV2,where p is the density of air (kg/m3) and V is the wind speed (m/s) giving q in N/m2 orPa.

See Units, Head, Dynamic head

DYNAMIC RESPONSE A response where the motion of the building caused by the wind varies significantly
over short timeperiods. The dynamic response can be greater than would beexpected for a similar static load, especially near the natural frequency of the structure.

DYNAMIC STRUCTURE A structure whose characteristics will tend toresult in a dynamic response to wind loading.
EAVES
The lower (horizontal) edge of a roof, parallel to the ridge line.

EKMAN SPIRAL
Describes the change of wind direction that occurs with height above ground as a result of the diminishinginfluence of surface friction and the continuinginfluence of pressure gradients.

EXTERNAL PRESSURE
The pressures that exist on the outside surfaces of a building. These will normally be a function of the wind speed, wind direction, building shape and size.

FASTEST MILE WIND SPEED A definition of wind speed used in the USA that records the time taken for a mile
of air to travel past a point. The drawback to this definition is that the effective averaging time varies with wind speed - from 6Osec at 6Omph down to 30sec at 120mph. This makes it an unsuitable reference wind speed and recent changes to American codes are moving away from this definition.

FATIGUE
Fatigue damage is caused to a structure or its fixings when subjected to cyclic loads over a long period of time.The damage normally occurs as cracks within the material of a structure grow as a result of the repeated loading and may, over time, progress sufficiently to cause failure. The size and number of the loading cycles determine whether fatigue will cause failure within the lifetime of a structure. Normally, damage would be most severe when a resonant response occurs because of the enhanced

14

Glossary o f Wind Terms

dynamic response and the large number of cycles that would take place. However, in some structures the general buffeting due to turbulence may also be important. Repeated loading may also cause the displacement of structural components - such as seals and gaskets in glazing or curtain-wall panels.

FETCH
Describes the terrain away from a site and/or its extent. For example, the upwind fetch was suburban or a 1Okm downwind country fetch.

FISHER-TIPPETT DISTRIBUTION A family of probability distributions used to describe the extreme occurrences of
wind speed. More recently it has been found better to fit such a distribution to dynamic pressure (velocity squared) in order to better predict extreme events.

FLAT ROOF
See Roof pitch

FLOW FIELD A term used to describe the whole area in which afluid is flowing around an
obstruction. Most commonly used in computer modelling offlows (CFD).

FLOW VISUALISATION A technique used by wind engineers to visualise what a flow is doing.These
techniques include introducing smoke into the airstream, attaching tufts to the surface that indicate the surface wind direction or using fluorescent pigments on the surface that are blown into streaks that indicate surface flow patterns.

FLUTTER A particular form of aeroelastic response in which two separate structural modes of vibration interact to cause a serious oscillation. A typical example might combined
torsional movement and up/down movementofa bridge deck.Flutter is often divergent - i.e. there is no natural limit to the magnitude of the oscillations. If not checked it will lead to structural failure.

FOOTPRINT
See Storm footprint

FRESHEN A meteorological term using to indicate an increasing wind speed. FRONT

Frontal zones define the boundary between two large air masses. The two air masses will typically have different air temperatures and thefrontal zone will extend upwards from the ground at an angle so that the colder air mass underlies the warmer, forming a shallow wedge. The term front is used where the frontalzone intersects the ground.

Height

i
l

Warm air
mass

Distance

Glossary o f Wind Term5

Frontal zones are often associated with vertical motion, particularly in the warmer air mass, and this can lead to cloud formation and precipitation.

FUJITA SCALE
This is a scale used to describe the relative strength of tornadoes: F0 F1 Gale tornado (40-72mph). Some damage to chimneys; breaks branches off trees; pushes over shallow-rooted trees; damages sign boards. Moderatetornado(73-112mph). The lower limit is thebeginning of hurricane wind speed; peels surfaces of roofs; mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned; moving vehicles pushed off roads. Significant tornado (1 13-157mph). Roofs torn off frame houses; mobile homes demolished; large trees snapped or uprooted; light-object missilesgenerated. Severe tornado (158-206mph). Roofs and some walls torn off wellconstructed houses; trains overturned; most trees in forest uprooted; heavy cars lifted off the ground and thrown. Devastating tornado (207-260mph). Well-constructed houses levelled; structures withweak foundations blown off some distance; cars thrown and large missiles generated. Incredible tornado (261-3 18mph). Strong frame houses lifted off foundations and carried considerable distance to disintegrate; automobilesized missilesfly through the air in excess of 100m; trees debarked; incredible phenomena will occur.

F2 F3

F4

F5

See also Tornado

FUNNELLING
Funnelling occurs when the proximity of two structures cause wind to accelerate through the gap between them - for example, between two building side walls. These increased speeds create higher suction loads on the side walls than would have existed on an isolated building. They may also cause problems for pedestrians using the area. I

GABLE A building with asimple two-slope (duopitch) roof that meets at the tophas two end walls where the brickwork, o r other cladding, comes to a point at the roof ridge. These are the gable walls. Gable walls arewell-known points offailure in windstorms, often resulting from the strong suctions caused near their edges and the failure to adequately tie the wall into the roof structure. Wind uplift loads on roof coverings are also stronger close to the gable end than they would be a similar roof with hipped ends.
See Hi p

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Glossary o f Wind Terms

GALE
Often used generically for a strongwind but has a specific meaning in theBeaufort Scale of wind speeds.

See Beaufort Scale

GALLOPING
A type of aeroelastic response where the structurehas an increased dynamic response caused by the motion of the structure affecting the wind load. Fatigue damage may result from the increased dynamic response. A good example is the dynamicresponse of stranded cables (e.g. guys on a tower) that can oscillate as a result of ice accretion on one side giving a unsymmetrical aerodynamic shape. The resulting crosswind force and the nature of the motion interact to create an ovalling motion.

GRADIENT WIND
A meteorological term for the wind speed at a high level in the atmosphere, well above the influence of the surface roughness.

GUST
A term used to describe short duration wind speeds such as in the fluctuations of wind speed about a mean value. To be meaningful it must be clear over what time the gust speed has been averaged. Typical durations would be l-3sec, but 5sec or 15sec gusts may alsobe quoted in certain contexts. The averaging time should reflect the size of element being considered and its ability to respond to the load. This is because of the possibility of spatial averaging.

GUST FACTOR
The ratio of the peak gust speed to the mean wind speed in a particular time period.

HEAD
Another term for pressure - often quoted in unitsrelated to the height of a column of some fluid - for example, inches of water or m m of mercury.
See Pressure

HELMHOLTZ OSCILLATION
This describes the pressure fluctuations that can occur when the air inside a cavity (such as an open building or room) resonates.

HERTZ The SI measure of frequency equal to 1 cycle/sec.

See Units

HIP
A line running from theeaves to the ridge (normally) where two roof slopes meet. Hipped roofs do nothave such abrupt sharp edges as would occur on a gable-ended roof. For this reason the wind uplift loads on tiles are lower for hipped roofs.

17

Glossary o f Wind Zrms

HOURLY-MEAN WIND SPEED

The value of wind speed averaged over a period of 1 hour.

HURRICANE
Anextremeformof cyclonic windstorm.Thisname is typically used in the southern partof the North Atlantic and Caribbean. Also used in the UK to describe Beaufort Force 12. Thetwo are not the same thing.

See Tropical cyclone.

INDUSTRIAL AERODYNAMICS
The discipline of applying aerodynamics to industrial, commercial and constructional problems rather than aircraft. Similar to wind engineering.

INTENSITY OF TURBULENCE See Turbulence intensity INTERNAL PRESSURE

The pressures that exist inside a building. These will depend on the porosity of the building envelope and will typically be related to an average of the external pressures acting on the building.

INVERSION
Meteorogically, inversion refers to a relatively shallow layer in the atmosphere ( < l k m ) where the air temperature increases with height (i.e. the lapse rate is negative). Pollutants can be trapped below an inversion layer because rising air will encounter warmer surroundings and will not longer be more buoyant than the surroundingair.

See Lapse rate

ISOBAR
Line of constant pressure on a weather map.

JAMB
A vertical structural framing member positioned at theextreme side of a curtain wall adjacent to an end vertical run of glass areas, windows, panels or doors.

JET STREAM
A region of very high wind speed, often of limited height and widthbut long in the wind direction. They occur in the upper levels of the atmosphere.

JOULE
The unit of energy in the SI system of units. l J = l N m .

See Units

KNOT
A unit of wind speed equal to I nautical mile/hr. Strictly the nautical mile varies according the latitude of the location but the knot is conventionally defined using a nautical mile of 6OSOft. 1 knot = 0.51477m/s.

LAPSE RATE
The termlapse rate is used to describe the temperature profile of the atmosphere with height. The lapse rare is positive when temperature reduces with increasing height. Three terms are commonly used: Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate (DALR),Saturated Adiabatic Lapse Rate (SALR) and Environment Lapse Rate (ELR). The first two relate to the change in temperature of a parcel of air as it rises. They refer, as the
18

Glossary o f Wind Terms

names suggest, to dry air and moist air respectively and, for typical temperatures are about 10 deg C per km and 6 deg C per km respectively. The ELR refers to the temperature profile of the atmosphere itself. It is the difference between the DALR (or SALR) and the ELR that determines whether the atmosphere is stable or not.

See Atmospheric stability

LEEWARD
O n the side of a body away from the wind, the downwindside.

LIFT
Lift describes a force perpendicular to the oncoming windflow direction. It comes fromaeronauticalapplicationswhere it describes the force on awingand is generally used in wind engineering to imply a vertical force rather than a side force.

LIMIT STATE DESIGN

Aphilosophyof design that defines different failure criteria(limitstates). design for each state often involves different acceptable risks of failure. The

See Serviceability limit state, Ultimate limit state

MANOMETER A device for measuring pressure using the height ofa column of fluid supported by
that pressure

- e.g. water or mercury.

MASS-DAMPING PARAMETER
See Scruton number

MEAN
An average. For time varying quantities, such as wind speed, it is important to specify over what time period a mean value is averaged. The longer the averaging time, the more likely it is that the shorter duration peaks of wind speed will less significant and the resulting wind speed quoted will be lower.

MEAN-HOURLY WIND SPEED See Hourly-mean wind speed MONTE-CARLO SIMULATION A numerical technique for estimating probabilistic events. Knowing the probability of
individual inputs, asimulation can be run toestimate the probability of specific results.

MULLION
A vertical framing member of a curtain wall, glazing system or other cladding. It spans from floor to floor or cill to head and is normally the main structuralmember.

NATURAL FREQUENCY All structures have frequencies at which they would vibrate oscillate or if loaded and
19

Glossary o f

Wind Term3

then allowed to vibrate freely. This is similar to, for example, a tuning fork that vibrates at a particular frequency when struck. It is the lowest (or fundamental) preferred frequency of vibration for the structure and if the loading excites it at, or close to, that frequency then greatly increased response can be expected and the structure would be said to resonate. Other, highernatural frequencies exist for different vibration modes.

See also Dynamic response, Modes of vibration

NEWTON
The unit offorce in the SI system of units.

See Units

OVERTURNING MOMENT
The rotational force tending to overturn a structure or element.

PASCAL
O n e definition of the unit of pressure in SI units. It is equivalent to N/m2 and pressure may be described in either terms.

See Units

PDF
See Probability density function

PERMEABILITY
Describes the relative leakiness of a body. Can be expressed as a ratio of openarea to enclosed area (=porosity) or as an effective area based on the relationship between flow rate through the body and the pressure difference across it. Effective area is normally smaller than the actual area of gaps, because of the resistance to flow through small gaps and the effects of separated flow from the edges of openings. In building walls, permeability affects the internal pressures in the building. For example permeable roof coverings such as tiles may attract less direct load because of the ability of pressures to equalise above and below the tiles. In this case, more load will be taken by the relatively less permeable underoof - underfelt or sarking.

PITOT-STATIC TUBE
An instrument that, when connected to a manometer, records the total and static pressures in a moving airstream. From this the dynamic pressure can be inferred by Bernoullis Law.

PLUME
Generally used to describe an exhaustofsomefluidfromachimney or other opening. By implication the exhaust is expected to have some properties different to the surroundingair - for example, it may be smoke orgas, it may be warmer and therefore buoyant.

20

Glossuly o f Wind Terms

PORTAL FRAME A portal frame building is a typical example of commercial style building, so called
because the frames of the building resemble gateways. The frames are largely selfsupporting with additional rigidity provided by wind bracing, a ridge beam and other lightweight bracing.

PRESSURE
The term pressure describes a force exerted over a unit area and has the units of N/m2 (sometimes called pascals (Pa)). In a wind engineering context this would typically be the pressure exerted by the air on the surface of a building. Note that pressure is a scalar quantity and at any point it acts equally in all directions.

See Units, Head

PRESSURE COEFFICIENT A non-dimensional way of describing the pressures on the surface of a structure.The
measured pressures, often from model tests in a wind tunnel, are divided by the dynamic pressure of the wind approaching the building. This allows the full-scale pressures to be determined by using the full-scale dynamic wind pressure multiplied by the pressure coefficient. Note that this technique is only reliable in situationswhere the behaviour of the flow around the body is not speed or size (Reynolds Number) dependent. This will normally be a safe assumption for sharp-edged bluff bodies but not for curved or streamlined bodies. In those cases the wind tunnelmodels will have to take account of this Reynolds Number effect when formulating the coefficients.

PRESSURE EQUALISATION A technique used to try andensure equal pressures on either side of a panelso that
the wind loads on that panel are greatly reduced. Commonly used on curtain walls to reduce loads on the rainscreen and achieved by providing ventilation openings. The sameprinciple applies to any vented multi-layer system. For example, the principle explains why wind loads on roof tiles (which are highly permeable at the joints) experience a lower wind load than the roof structureitself.

PROBABILITY DENSITY FUNCTION A PDF describes the probability (or likelihood) of an event occurring in the form of anequation. Probabilities range from 0 (definitely will nothappen)to 1.0
(definitely will happen), although they are sometimes expressed as percentages in the range 0 - 100%. The probability density function most often used to describe wind speeds is the Weibull distribution.

PROBABILITY FACTOR A factor used in the British Standard BS 6399-2 to allow designers to design against
a different level of risk than the standard 2 % per annum.

PURLIN A structural member in a commercial style roof, often using metal cladding, that
21

Glossary o f Wind Terms

runs perpendicular to the the roof covering.

rafters and provides additional stiffness and support to

Rafter

See Dynamic pressure

RAFTER A principal structural element of a

roof running from eaves to ridge. Rafters are often constructed as A-framesor similar spanning between the walls of the building.

RAIL A structural member in a framed building running along the

eaves and which provides support for the wall cladding.

walls parallel to the

See also Purlin

RAJNSCREEN
The outer layer of a multi-layer wall designed primarily to protect the inner layers from rain penetration. It experiences some wind load but is ventilated to allow pressures either side of it to equalise. The inner layers of the wall therefore take the majority of the wind load.

REATTACHMENT
When flow separates from the surface (see Separated flow) it may reattach if the building is longenoughinthedownwinddirection. Beyond thereattachment point there may be frictional forces from the flow slumming over the surface and pressure coefficients are generally quite small positive or negative values. Where reattachment occurs the area under the separated region is sometimes referred to as the separation bubble.

Separation bubble

REDUCED VELOCITY
Used typically when describing vortex shedding, the reduced velocity is the reciprocal of the Strouhal Number andgiven by V l n D where V is the wind speed, n the natural frequency of the structure and D the diameter ofthe structure. It is a non-dimensional way of describing the wind speed which is useful when comparing the response of different structures.

RESONANCE
Resonance occurs when the frequency of an applied load is the same as the natural frequency of thestructure. If this occurs there is a significant risk thatthe
22

Glossay o f Wind Term5

amplitude of response will increase very dramatically, possibly leading directly to structural failure. The effect may, however, be ameliorated if there is sufficient damping in the structure.

RETURN PERIOD
The return period is one way of describing the risk of an extreme event occurring. Its use is being discouraged now in favour of describing the risk of exceedance directly because there is the possibility of mis-interpreting return period. In theUK the standarddesign wind speed for buildings has a probability ofexceedence of 2% per annum. This means there is 2% chance each year that the design wind speed will occur. Over a 50year building life this means that there is a 63.6% chance that the design wind speed will occur at least once but, by the same token, a 36.4% chance that it will not occur. The 2% per annum exceedence probability equates to a return period of 50 years. This means that on average the design wind speed will occur once every 50 years. However, it does not mean that it will occur in any particular 50-year period, nor that there will 50 years between occurrences. This is where thepotential for misunderstanding arises in the use of return periods. Stating the annualexceedence probability avoids this ambiguity.

REYNOLDS NUMBER A non-dimensional parameter thatdescribes the relative importance of inertial and
viscous forces in aflowingfluid. For correct simulation in a wind tunnel this parameter should be the same at both model and full scales. This is difficult to achieve given the definition below. However, where the behaviour of the structure does not vary with Reynolds Number this requirement can be relaxed. Examples when this is acceptable are for sharp-edged bluff bodies where the points at which the flow separates (the sharp corners) do not change with wind speed. For curved surfaces special measures must betaken to ensure the mis-match of Reynolds Number in the wind tunnel does not give erroneous results. Reynolds Number is given by: Re = V . D / V where V is the wind speed, D a suitable reference dimension of the structure and V is the lunematic viscosity of air (= 1.46 x m2/s).

RIDGE
The horizontal apex of a pitched roof where two roof slopes meet.

RISK
See Design risk

RISK OF EXCEEDENCE See Weibull distribution

RIVET FIXING
Some slates, especially fibre-cement varieties, can be fixed using a rivet, normally
23

Glossary o f Wind Terms

made from copper. The disc of the rivet slides between and under the two slates beneath the target one to be fixed. A vertical rod then passes up and through a hole in the target slate and is bent over by hand. This is designed to hold the tail of the slate down.

RMS
Root Mean Square - a statistical measure of the variability of a series of values. Often used in wind engineering to describe turbulence intensity, which is the rms wind speed divided by the mean. The use of this terminology is often loose so that what is intended by the term rms is actually standard deviation. Stricrly, rms (or M S ) describes the fluctuations of the whole signal whereas standard deviation describes the fluctuations about the meanvalue (i.e. with the mean subtracted from individual values).

ROOF PITCH
The pitch of the roof is the angle of the slopes relative to the horizontal. Note that any roof with a pitch lower than 5" is normally considered to be flat. There are many types of pitched roof: Monopitch - the roof comprises just a single sloped surface. Duopitch - the roof comprises two sloped surfaces generally pointing upwards so the roof is convex and joined at the 'ridge'. Troughed duopitch roofs are those where the slopes point downwards and they are joined at a 'trough. Multi-bay - normally found on long commercial or farm type buildings, the roof comprises a series of pitched roofs.

ROOF TILE TYPES

There are a wide range of roof tile types available on the market but the most common are briefly described below: Interlocking - these tiles overlap bothtothe side andatthetopandbottom. Generallythereare design features, especially at the sides, whichinterlock and increase weathertightness. Tiles like this are sometimes called single lap products because there is only ever one overlap, i.e. a maximum of two tile layers at any position. Interlocking tiles are typically made of concrete or clay and are approximately 300mm wide by 41 Omm long. Variants on this do occur however and resin-based interlocking products also exist.

24

Glouay of Wind Terms

Plain tiles - plain tiles are an example of double lap products. Thereis no interlock and instead weathertightness is achieved by providing more overlapping layers. The joints between tiles are staggered to further increase the resistance to rain penetration. Plain tiles are made in clay or concrete and typically are smaller than interlocking tiles - lOOmm wide by167mm long. Slates - natural slate is provided in many sizes (typically 300m by 6OOm long, or 250mm by 500mm long). They too are laid in a double lap formation with staggered joints. Fibre-cement slates are similar in concept but are made from fibre-reinforced cement.

ROUGHNESS LENGTH
A parameter
(20) used to describe the roughness of a surface when describing the wind velocity profile. Typical values for common terrain descriptions are:

Country: 0.03m Suburban: 0.3m Urban: O.6m

See dlso Velocity profile

25

Glossary of Wind Terms

SARKING
Boarding used in place of underfelt as the main structural load transmitting element of the roof construction and as the second line of defence against rain or snow penetration. Tiles are fixed either directly to the sarking board or onto battens that are fixed to it.

SCRUTON NUMBER A non-dimensional parameter used to describe the relative effectiveness of structural
damping in comparison to the aerodynamic input of energy, taking account of the size and mass of the structure. It is most commonly written in the form: Sc = 4nmC/(pB2) where m is the mass per unit length of the structure, is the damping ratio, p is the density of air and B is a cross-wind dimension.

Using the logarithmic decrement this can also be written Sc=2m6/pD2. The higher the Scruton number, the less likely are severe dynamic oscillations of the structure.

See D a m p i n g for an explanation of

6 and 6.

SFASONAL FACTOR A factor used in the British Standard BS 6399-2 to allow for the reduced risk of failure
when structures are temporary and will not exist during the most windy months.

SEPARATED FLOW
Separation occurs when the main body of the moving wind pulls away from the surface
26

Glossary o f Wind Terms

leaving beneath a re-circulating region of turbulent flow, often with reversed wind direction at the surface. The implication of using the term separated flow is that it is a more substantial feature than the normal boundary layer region. In wind engineering this most commonly occurs at sharp edges but it can also happen on the leeward part of a curved body. The location of the separation is called the separation point.

Seoaration Doint

SEPARATION, SEPARATION POINT, SEPARATION BUBBLE See Separated flow, Reattachment SERVICEABILITY LIMIT STATE
Many codes andstandardsnowadopt alimitstate design approach.Ultimate structural failure is normally the main design criterion but theremay be other serviceability limit states. O n e example might be for a communications tower where deflection must be limited in order to maintain line-of-sight with a transmitter. Another could be a limit on accelerations at the top of an office block to ensure occupant comfort. Serviceability limit states are generally designed to a higher risk level than the ultimate limit state because although they are undesirable they can be tolerated more often than complete failure.

See Ultimate limit state

SHEAR FORCE
This is normally used to describe a force in the direction of the applied load that tends to separate layers in a material or structure.

SHEAR LAYER
When flow separates from a body there is a boundary between the separated flow and the surrounding airstream. That boundary is known as the shear layer. There will typically be large changes in wind speed as you pass through the shear layer.

See Separated flow

SI UNITS See Units SIZE EFFECT FACTOR See Spatial averaging SLENDERNESS
Usually, the ratio of a structural elements cross-sectional dimension to its length. Aspect ratio (see above) describes a similar ratio but is the more common term used for whole buildings.

27

Glossary o f Wind Terms

SPATIAL AVERAGING
Spatial averaging describesthe way that individual gusts, of varying sizes, do not occur simultaneously across the whole face of a structure. Short duration gusts are smaller in size and, for large buildings, they will not be hlly correlated acrossthe building face. So, it would give too high a design load if it was assumed that all gusts are simultaneously at their strongest everywhere on the surface. This effect is accounted for in the UK design standard using a size effect factorwhich reduces loads for large structures or elements.

SPECTRUM
A spectrum is a graphical representation of the amount of energy contained in a fluctuating signal at different frequencies. They are used to describe, for example, the turbulence in wind and the pressures measured on a building surface. This is analagous to the way that white light can be decomposed according to wavelength (or its reciprocal frequency) into the visible spectrum (a rainbow).

STAGNATION POINT
When flow approaches a building or other obstacle it must split and pass around and over the obstruction. The streamline which defines the division between flow going to one side or the other actually comes to rest on the building and the flow speed at that point will be zero. This point on the building is called the stagnation point. At the stagnation point all of the dynamic pressure in the approaching wind is converted to static pressure so this is the point with the highest positive pressure coefficient.

STATIC PRESSURE
T h e pressure that is experienced on the surface of a body. In still air the static pressure felt is simply atmospheric pressure. When air accelerates around a body, the increase in velocity (or dynamic) pressure results in reduced static pressure. This explains how suctions arise on building surfaces. Conversely, as wind is slowed down on the windward face of buildings, dynamic pressure is reduced and static pressure must therefore rise. Static pressure is most often referred to relative to atmospheric pressure so that reduced static pressure (suction) would be described as negative because it is lower than atmospheric pressure.

STATIC RESPONSE
The response of a buildingis deemed to be static if it does not fluctuate significantly over a short period of term, consistent with the duration of the gusts in the wind.

STORM FOOTPRINT
This describes the area affected by a particular storm. It wouldtypically be defined in terms of contours of maxium gust wind speed plotted on a map of the area.

STREAMLINED BODY
See Streamlines

STREAMLINES
Streamlines indicate the direction offlow on a diagram of a body with windflowing
28

Glossary o f Wind Terms

past it. Strictly, they are defined so that wind flows between the streamlines and does not cross them. By implication, a streamlined bodyis one where the flow can always be described in this way. This is in contrast to a bluff body, where flow separations cause turbulence and disorderly flow so that streamlines can not be defined.

STREET CANYON A term used to describe the streets of major urban areas where the tall buildings
effectively create canyons along the streets. These canyons can make it difficult for pollutants to escape or, in other circumstances, may cause accelerated wind flows giving rise to uncomfortable or dangerous conditions for pedestrians.

STROUHAL NUMBER
A non-dimensional parameter used to describe the frequency of vortex shedding from a structure. It is defined as follows:
St=n.D/V where n is the frequency of vortex shedding, D is the crosswind dimension of the structure and V is the wind speed. For circular cylinders the value of St is 0.2 and for rectangular cylinders, typically 0.12. When the shedding frequency is at or close to the natural frequency of the structure (n) then large amplitude oscillations can occur. Thus it is possible to define a critical wind speed at which this may occur: Vcrir= n . D / St or, for circular cylinders Vcrit= 5 . n . D

STRUCTURAL GLAZING A means of bonding glass units onto an internal frame with minimal mechanical
retention to provide a flush-glazed shear wall. The structural loads are then largely taken by the glass units.

SUB-ANNUAL PERIODS
See Seasonal factor

TERRAIN
The description of the land use around a site. In standards terrain categories are used to describe the roughness oftheupwind fetch and definethe levels of turbulence and change of wind speed with height.

THUNDERSTORM
Thunderstorms develop from cumulo-nimbus clouds, which are formed by rising, moist air. When precipitation starts strong down-draughtsare created. These hit the ground and spread out sideways, creating strong local wind speeds well in excess of those existing previously. These winds are often of relatively short duration and can lead to very high apparent gust factors. This is because, averaged over an hour the wind speed may be modest but the peak gusts in the hour are associated with the short-term convective winds in the thunderstorm.

TILE CLIPS
Clips are used as a means of fixing many types tile, of especially interlockingvarieties. They are generally specified in areas where wind loads are expected to be higher than
29

Glossay o f Wind Terms

normal. A widevarietyareavailable but most clip into the interlocking side portion of the tile, towards the bottom end, and are then nailed or otherwise fixed intothebatten.Theycan be more effective than nails at preventing overturning of the tile because they are closer to the free bottom edge.

TOPOGRAPHIC EFFECT
Local changes in groundslope near to a site will affect the wind speed. Close to the crest there will be an acceleration of the wind as it flows around the obstruction. The speed-up effect is important for slope gradients of more than 1 in 20 but they reduce with height above ground.

Region of acceleraled flow

TOPOGRAPHIC FACTOR
The effects of topography are allowed for in British Standard BS 6399-2 by a combined altitude and topography factor.

See Altitude factor

TOPOGRAPHY
The degree of slope in the local terrain surrounding a site - for example, hills and valleys. In BS6399-2 the wider effects of changing altitude are treated separately from the local effect of hills.

TORNADO A tornado is a violent whirlwind, usually quite small in size with a core diameter of
50-200m. They normally form where there is a very strong updraft, for example as seen in developing thunderstorms. Wind speeds of more than 1OOm/s can occur near the centre of the tornado but in a narrow ring. At the centre the horizontal wind speed is zero but the large updraft is capable of lifting heavy objects. Also, in the centre there is a substantial depression in pressure that can cause the sucking out of building walls etc. The strength of tornadoes is described by the Fujita Scale.
See also Fujita Scale

TORSION A load that tends to twist a structure or structural element about its axis.

TOTAL PRESSURE
The total pressure experience by a bodyin a fluid flow is madeupof components - the static pressure and the dynamic pressure. See Bernoullis Law
30

two

Glossary of Wind Terms

TRANSOM
A horizontal framing member of a curtain wall, glazing system or other cladding. It normally spans from mullion to mullion and allows infill panelsto span in two directions.

TROPICAL CYCLONE
An extreme form of cyclonic wind storm. Hurricanes and typhoons are alternative regional names. A tropical cyclone is a cyclonic storm derivingitsenergyprimarilyfrom the evaporation of water from warm tropical seas (particularly where water temperature exceeds 26C). Tropical cyclones may cause winds considerably strongerthan occur in temperate cyclones (such as experienced in the UK) butare smaller in extent and impact less frequently on any single location. The wind strength decreases rapidly as the storm runs onto land. The strength of tropical cyclones can be measured by the Saffir-Simpson Scale.

See alro Saffir-Simpson Scale

TURBULENCE
Describes the fluctuations in the wind. These are important both for loading and the wind environment around a building. For loading they represent short-term variations about the mean wind speed so that a structure should be designed to withstand the largest gust (short term average wind speed) that could affect it. In addition to the effect of turbulence on structural loads it also affects the ability of people to walk and stand safely in urban locations. Turbulence intensity is the standard measure ofgustiness.

TURBULENCE INTENSITY
The standard deviation of wind speed divided by the mean wind speed. Normally expressed in percent. Turbulence is greatest in rough terrain and least in smooth terrain. Typical values are: Country terrain: 10-20% Sub-urban terrain: 25-30% Urban terrain: 35%+

TURBULENCE LENGTH SCALES

These describe the representative size of gusts in the along-wind, crosswind and vertical directions. They are derived from the spectral equation describing wind speed fluctuations.

See Spectrum

TYPHOON
An extreme form of cyclonic wind storm. This nameis typically used in the South Western Pacific and China Seas.

S e e Tropical cyclone

ULTIMATE LIMIT STATE, ULTIMATE FAILURE

Many codes and standards now adopt a limit state design approach. This means that different design limits, or limit states, can be defined and designed for. The ultimate limit state is the one where structural failure would occur. This is clearly the major design criterion for most structures. However, there may be other lesser states that also dictate the design such as deflection or acceleration.

See Serviceability limit state

31

Glossary o f Wind Terms

UNDERFELT
Underfelt is amaterial that is laid under tiles. It is normallyathick fabric-like material that is draped over the rafter and held in place by the battens nailed on top of it. Its purpose is to resist the main part of the wind uplift load on the roof (transmitting it into the main structure) and it also acts as a second line of defence against rain or snow penetration. The most common material used is a bitumen based felt, although more modern types are now available, some of which include an element of ventilation by being permeable to water vapour. Note that in Scotland it is more common to use a solid wooden deck (or sarking) in place of an underfelt.

UNITS
When describing terms in wind engineering or other technical field, it is common to use equations to describe the relationships between different parameters. Generally, theseequations will holdtrue for any set ofconsistent units. The standard set of units used is the SI (Systkme Internationale) system in which the key, consistent units are: length - metre (m) mass - kilogramme (kg) time - sec
(S)

force - newtons ( N

kgm/s2)

pressure - (N/m2)- also called pascals (Pa)

UPWIND
In a direction opposite to that of the wind, the windward side

VALLEY A valley in a roof occurs where two roof slopes meet at an angle. O n the outside of
the corner there will be a hip and on the inner (re-entrant) side of the corner there will be a valley.

VAN DER HOVEN SPECTRUM A measurement made

by van der Hoven at Brookhaven, NY of the frequency content of winds over a long period.It identifies the major fluctuationsas being the diurnal changes of night and day, a 4-day cycle representing the typical passage time of a temperate weather system, seasonal changes and longer term changes due to sun spot activity.

VEERING
This is a meteorological term used to describe a clockwise change in wind direction, e.g. from northerly to easterly

32

Glossary o f Wind Terms

VELOCITY PROFILE
The variation of windspeed with heightcaused by the friction of surface roughness elements such as hedges, trees, buildings etc. Common ways to describe the profile are a power-law and a logarithmic law. In smooth terrain the wind speed increases with height rapidly and soon reaches its maxium value whereas for rough terrian greater surface friction slows the air down and the rise in wind speed with height is more gradual.

Height

Smooth terrain

------+
Wind speed

VENTILATED RAINSCREEN
See Rainscreen

VERGE
The side edge of the roof, on the slope.

VORTEX A rotating mass of air with low pressure at its core and strong speeds around its
periphery.

VORTEX SHEDDING
When air flows separatefromabody vortices are formedandshedintothe downstream wake of the body. In some situation these are strong and can cause significant loading of the structure. This is especially true for slender, prismatic structures including circular cylinders such as chimneys where the vortices are shed alternately from each side resulting in a fluctuating cross-wind force. The shedding frequency is described by the Strouhal Number and when it coincides with a structural natural frequency a large resonant dynamic response may result.

W A K E
The region of flow behind a structure or element. Often this is a region of low wind speed and high turbulence.

WARM FRONT
Isobars

A front is described as awarmfront

when, as it passes any ground location, warmer air replaces the colder air previously there. The usual symbols for awarmfront on aweather map are

Warm front
I

33

Glossary o f Wind Terms

solid semi-circles shownalongthelineofthefront.Theypointtowardsthe direction the front is moving. As the front passes a location winds direction - always veering (e.g. from south to west).

will change

WEIBULL DISTRIBUTION
This is the equation most oftenused to describe the long-term probability of wind speeds occurring. In its probability density form the equation is quite complex and it is more often used in its cumulative distribution form, where it describes the likelihood of wind speeds at or below a given threshold value:

P(v)

I - exp (-cVk)

From this, the risk of exceedence of a particular threshold is even simpler:

Q(.)

exp (-cVk)

The parameters c and k are obtained from long data records taken from a local The value of k is meteorological office or by longtermmeasurementon-site. typically in the range 1.6 - 2.3, while the value of c is approximately 90% of the mean wind speed for a site.

WIND BRACING
Used in a portal frame building to transfer the shear loads caused by wind into the foundation and prevent progressive (domino-like) collapse of the frames. Normally in the end bays of the building.

WIND DIRECTION
The direction that the windis blowing from. For example, a northerly windblows fromnorthtosouth.Winddirection may be given in cardinalpointsof the

WIND ENGINEERING
The discipline associated with all aspects of wind flow and their effects on the environment and on structures. Similar to Industrial aerodynamics.

WIND ENVIRONMENT
Wind environment describes the conditions in or around a structure or development. A s opposed to wind loading, in which the prime concern is the pressure distribution created on the building by the wind, with wind environment it is the actual wind speeds and their effect on users of the development that are of interest. Examples include keeping street level wind speeds low in cities to ensure the comfort and safety of pedestrians, or reducing the possibility of pollutant build-up in urban areas.

WIND SHEAR
Wind shear is a term used to describe a variation of wind speed with distance, normally used to describe a vertical variation. For example, wind speed is known

34

Glossary o f Wind Terms

to generally increase with height above ground and this is wind shear. In aeronautical terms it is often used specifically to describe a rapid change in wind speed such as might cause a pilot difficulty when landing.

WIND SPEED
Wind speed is described in many different ways that can cause confusion. It is important to distinguish between mean speeds (averaged over a long period) and short duration gust speeds. Without a knowledge of the averaging time used the wind speed value is not very useful. Mean wind speeds are normally quoted for an averaging time of 10 min or one hour and, because of theenergy spectrum of wind speed fluctuations, there is only a relatively small difference between the two. Gust speeds are usually quoted for l-3sec averaging periods and these are the smallest gust sizes that would affect typical structural components. For larger elements, a gust speed based on 15sec averages might also be used.

See Gust, Hourly-Mean Wind Speed

WIND TUNNEL A wind tunnel is a facility for testing the effects of the flow of air over obstacles, such as buildings. To be suitable for testing buildingsthe wind tunnel mustbe able
to adequately represent at least the vertical profile of wind speed with height as well as the profile ofturbulence. Normally, thisshouldbe possible fora range of differentterrain types and this will entail the wind tunnel havingalong flow development section upwind of the test area. Different facilities are required for specialised testing such as the dispersion of pollutants wherevery slow wind speeds are often the key problem. In such cases there is also a need to simulate the thermal stratification in the atmosphere. There are a number of suitable test facilities in the UK and abroad capable of performing tests on buildings. The accurate use of wind tunnels depends on the skill and experience of the operator. Potential users are strongly advised to consult experts in the field to ensure meaningful results.

WINDWARD
The side of the structure facing the wind, or upwind.

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Glossay o f Wind Terms

SOURCES OF INFORMATION
The following are not intended as an exhaustive referenceor contacts. If you wish to find out more please start with these or contact the editors using the details given in the Foreword. Key References: 1.

BS 6399: Part 2: 1997 Loading for Buildings. Code of practice for wind loads. British Standards Institution
designers guide to wind loading of building structures. Part Background, damage survey, wind data and structural classification, N J Cook, Butterworth, 1985 T h e designers guide to wind loading of building structures. Part structures, N J Cook, Butterworth, 1990. l:

2. The

3.

2: Static

Key Contacts: Wind Engineering Society c/o The Institution of Civil Engineers, 1 Great George Street, London S W l P 3AA Tel: 020 7222 7722 Web site: http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/gaylard/WES Loss Prevention Council Loss Prevention Council, Melrose Avenue, Borehamwood, Herts WD6 2BJ Tel: 020 8207 2345 Web site: http://www.lpc.co.uk British Standards Institution 389 Chiswick High Road, London W 4 4AL Tel: 020 8996 9000 Web site: http://www.bsi.org.uk

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