THE EFFECT OF THUNDERSTORM EXTREME WINDS ON LIGHTWEIGHT STRUCTURES

This paper describes an extensive research aimed at evaluation of thunderstorm properties and their effect on lightweight structures. Starting from an unprecedented monitoring network including anemometric and structural response signals, the downburst wind field generated by thunderstorm events and the dynamic response of structures are inspected. On these bases, a new generation of wind loading models, namely the response spectrum technique, the time-domain integration and evolutionary spectral density approaches, are described and compared with real structural response, with the aim of producing outcomes physically correct and transferable to design procedures