Serviceability Limit States: Wind Induced Vibrations

Abstract

Modern buildings that satisfy current design guidelines for maximum static lateral drift still may vibrate excessively during windstorms to the point where the motion disturbs the building occupants. Static lateral drift criteria do not address explicitly the relation between the fluctuating component of structural response and the performance that is necessary to ensure that the building remains serviceable. This paper summarizes existing data regarding human tolerance of building motion and describes how a simple checking procedure for this serviceability limit state might be developed using random vibration theory to relate the fluctuating wind forces to structural response.