L- 4: Introduction to Wind Force: As per IS 875 Part-3
• Wind is air in motion relative to the surface of the earth.
• The primary cause of wind is traced to earth’s rotation and differences in
terrestrial radiation. The radiation effects are mainly responsible for
convection current either upwards or downwards.
• The wind generally blows horizontal to the ground at high speeds.
• The wind speeds are assessed with the aid of Anemometers or
Anemographs, which are installed at meteorological observatories at
heights generally varying from 10 to 30 meters above ground.
• Very strong winds are generally associated with cyclonic storms,
thunderstorms, dust storms or vigorous monsoons.
• A feature of the cyclonic storms over the Indian region is that they rapidly
weaken after crossing the coasts and move as depressions/ lows inland.
• The response of a building to high wind pressures depends not only upon
the geographical location and proximity of other obstructions to airflow
but also upon the characteristics of the structure itself.
• The effect of wind on the structure as a whole is determined by the
combined action of external and internal pressures acting upon it.
Basic Wind Speed (Vb):
Figure 1 gives basic wind speed map of India, as applicable at 10 m height
above mean ground level for different zones of the country.
Basic wind speeds presented in Fig. 1 have been worked out for a 50-year
return period.
Design Wind Speed (Vz) :
The basic wind speed (Vb) for any site shall be obtained from Fig. 1 and shall be
modified
to include the following effects to get design wind speed, Vz at any height,
• (a) Risk level,
• (b) Terrain roughness and height of structure,
• (c) Local topography,
• (d) Importance factor for the cyclonic region.
It can be mathematically expressed as follows:
Design Wind Speed V z= V b k1 k 2 k3 k4
where
Vz = design wind speed at any height z in m/s,
Vb = Basic wind speed in m/s
k1 = probability factor (Risk coefficient)
k2 = terrain roughness and height factor
k3 = topography factor
k4 = importance factor for the Cyclonic region
Risk Coefficient (k1):
The suggested life span to be assumed in design and the corresponding k1 factors for
different class of structures for the purpose of design are given in Table 1.
Class of Mean Probable K1 factor for Basic Wind Speed (m/s) of
Structures design life of
structure in years
33 39 44 47 50 55
All general 50 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
buildings
and
structures
Terrain roughness and height factor- k2:
Terrain in which a specific structure stands shall be assessed as being one of
the following terrain categories:
• Category 1 – Exposed open terrain with a few or no obstructions and in which
the average height of any object surrounding the structure is less than 1.5 m.
• Category 2 – Open terrain with well-scattered obstructions having height
generally between 1.5 and 10 m.
• Category 3 – Terrain with numerous closely spaced obstructions having the
size of building-structures up to 10 m in height with or without a few isolated
tall structures.
• Category 4 – Terrain with numerous large high closely spaced obstructions.
K2 factors to obtain design wind speed variation with height in different
terrains:
Height (z) Terrain and height multiplier (k2)
(m) Terrain Terrain Terrain Terrain
Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 Category 4
10 1.05 1.00 0.91 0.80
15 1.09 1.05 0.97 0.80
20 1.12 1.07 1.01 0.80
30 1.15 1.12 1.06 0.97
50 1.20 1.17 1.12 1.10
100 1.26 1.24 1.20 1.20
150 1.30 1.28 1.24 1.24
200 1.32 1.30 1.27 1.27
250 1.34 1.32 1.29 1.28
300 1.35 1.34 1.31 1.30
350 1.37 1.36 1.32 1.31
400 1.38 1.37 1.34 1.32
450 1.39 1.38 1.35 1.33
500 1.40 1.39 1.36 1.34
k3 Topography factor:
The basic wind speed Vb given in Fig. 1 takes account of the general level of
site above sea level.
This does not allow for local topographic features such as hills, valleys, cliffs,
escarpments, or ridges, which can significantly affect the wind speed in their
vicinity.
k3 – Varies from 1.00 to 1.36 for upwind slope Ө=3°
k4 Importance Factor for Cyclonic Region (k4) :
The effect of Cyclonic storms is largely felt in a belt of approximately 60 km width at the
coast. In order to ensure greater safety of structures in this region (60 km wide on the east
coast as well as on the Gujarat coast), the following values of k4 are taken, as applicable
according to the importance of the structure:
• Structures of post–cyclone importance 1.30
• Industrial structures 1.15
• All other structures 1.00
Design Wind Pressure:
The wind pressure at any height above mean ground level
shall be obtained by the following relationship between wind
pressure and wind speed:
where
• pz = wind pressure in N/m2 at height z, and
• Vz = design wind speed in m/s at height z.
The Design Wind Pressure ‘Pd ‘can be obtained as,
Pd = Kd. Ka. Kc. pz
where
• Kd = Wind directionality factor
• Ka = Area averaging factor
• Kc= Combination factor
Kd - Wind directionality factor :
• For Buildings Kd is assumed as 1.0
Ka - Area averaging factor :
Depending on the area, Ka value varies from 0.8
to 1.0
Kc - Combination factor :
It is generally taken between 0.8 to 1.0
Wind load on Individual members:
When calculating the wind load on individual structural elements such
as roofs and walls and individual cladding units and their fittings, it is
essential to take account of the pressure difference between opposite
faces of such elements.
The wind load, F, acting in a direction normal to the individual
structural element is:
F = (Cpe – Cpi) A pd
where
• Cpe = external pressure coefficient,
• Cpi = internal pressure coefficient
• A = surface area of structural element or cladding unit,
• pd= design wind pressure
