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Wind Load Caculation Example

This report outlines the workflow for calculating wind loads on a 5-storey reinforced concrete office building in Perth, Australia, detailing building specifications, wind parameters, and pressure coefficients. It emphasizes the importance of considering both external and internal pressures when modeling in ETABS and provides example calculations for design gust wind speeds and net pressures. The report concludes that project-specific parameters should be referenced from AS/NZS 1170.2 maps and tables.

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Ke Jin
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4 views2 pages

Wind Load Caculation Example

This report outlines the workflow for calculating wind loads on a 5-storey reinforced concrete office building in Perth, Australia, detailing building specifications, wind parameters, and pressure coefficients. It emphasizes the importance of considering both external and internal pressures when modeling in ETABS and provides example calculations for design gust wind speeds and net pressures. The report concludes that project-specific parameters should be referenced from AS/NZS 1170.2 maps and tables.

Uploaded by

Ke Jin
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Wind Load Analysis Report for a 5-Storey Concrete Office Building (Perth,

Australia)
This report provides an example workflow for calculating wind loads for a 5-storey
reinforced concrete (RC) office building located in Perth, Western Australia, and how to
apply these loads in an ETABS structural model. All parameters used here are illustrative
and may be adjusted to suit real project conditions.

1. Building Information
• Location: Perth, Western Australia
• Structure: 5-storey RC office building
• Height: 20 m (4 m per storey)
• Plan dimensions: 30 m × 20 m
• Importance level: 2 (AS/NZS 1170.0)
• Exposure category: B (urban terrain)
• Terrain/height multiplier Mz,cat determined per AS/NZS 1170.2

2. Wind Parameters (AS/NZS 1170.2)


• Regional wind speed VR (Perth): 45 m/s (example value, check maps)
• Direction multiplier Md: 1.0
• Terrain/height multiplier Mz,cat: varies with height (example values below)
• Shielding multiplier Ms: 1.0
• Topographic multiplier Mt: 1.0 (assumed flat site)
• Design gust wind speed: Vdes = VR × Md × Mz,cat × Ms × Mt

3. Example Design Gust Wind Speeds by Height


Assumed Mz,cat values:
• 5 m: 0.78 → Vdes = 45 × 1 × 0.78 = 35.1 m/s
• 10 m: 0.85 → Vdes = 38.3 m/s
• 15 m: 0.92 → Vdes = 41.4 m/s
• 20 m: 0.98 → Vdes = 44.1 m/s

4. External Pressure Coefficients (Cp)


For a rectangular building, AS/NZS 1170.2 Table 5.1 provides Cp values. Example values:
• Windward face: +0.8
• Leeward face: –0.5
• Side walls: –0.7

5. Internal Pressure Coefficients (Cpi)


Cpi values depend on openings:
• Typical office building: ±0.3 (nominal openings)
Both Cpi = +0.3 and Cpi = –0.3 must be checked, and the worst case governs.
6. Net Pressure Calculation
Wind pressure formula:
p = 0.5 × ρ × (Vdes²) × (Cp − Cpi)
where air density ρ ≈ 1.2 kg/m³.

Example at height 20 m:
• Vdes = 44.1 m/s
• Dynamic pressure q = 0.5 × 1.2 × 44.1² = 1167 N/m²
• Net pressure on windward wall (Cpi = –0.3):
pn = q × (0.8 − (−0.3)) = 1167 × 1.1 = 1284 N/m²

7. Storey Wind Forces


Storey wind force acting on each level:
F = pn × tributary area

Tributary area per floor = building width (20 m) × storey height (4 m) = 80 m²

Example (using windward net pressure 1284 N/m²):


Fstorey = 1284 × 80 = 102,720 N ≈ 103 kN per level

Pressures at lower levels will be lower due to reduced Vdes.

8. Creating Load Cases in ETABS


1. Create two wind load cases: WIND+ (Cpi = +0.3), WIND– (Cpi = –0.3).
2. Define wind pressures at different heights as uniform line loads on frames or area loads
on façade panels.
3. Assign external and internal pressures simultaneously:
• External pressure: Cp × q
• Internal pressure: Cpi × q
ETABS will add them as net pressure.
4. Use auto-wind load only if geometry closely matches code assumptions; otherwise use
manual area loads.
5. Apply loads to windward, leeward, and side walls.
6. Run load combinations per AS/NZS 1170.0 & 1170.2.

9. Summary
• Both external (Cp) and internal (Cpi) pressures must be considered simultaneously.
• Net pressures vary by height and must be calculated at each storey.
• ETABS should model wind as area loads or auto wind loads with correct parameters.
• This report provides only example values; project-specific parameters must refer to
AS/NZS 1170.2 maps and tables.

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