Mitigation of Severe Wind Damage Related to Ground Transportation Systems

Abstract

The assessment of the highest winds to be expected in a given location has been accomplished for well‐populated areas by long‐standing data‐keeping on the part of meteorological agencies and the exercise of extreme‐value statistical analysis of such data. The paper addresses only problems of fixed transportation structures, such as road signs and bridges, and not those of ground vehicles and their design. Such vehicles are highly vulnerable to winds greater than those related to their design forward velocities, and very sensitive to those winds having components across the direction of vehicle travel. Fixed structures must be designed to withstand the highest expected winds at their sites. This calls for a design appreciation of wind climatology, information on local terrain conditions, and proper formulation of the expressions for the wind forces acting on structures of particular configuration.