Windborne debris damage prediction analysis

Abstract

Windborne debris is one of the most important causes of the envelop destruction according to the post-damage investigations. The problem of windborne debris damage could be summarized as three parts, including windborne debris risk analysis, debris flying trajectories, and impact resistance of envelope analysis. The method of debris distribution is developed. The flying trajectories of compact and plate-like debris are solved by using a numerical method according to the different aerodynamic characteristics. The impact resistance of the envelopes is also analyzed. Besides, the process of windborne debris damage analysis is described in detail. An example of industrial building is given to demonstrate the whole method by using the observed data of typhoon Chanchu (2006). The method developed in this paper could be applied to risk assessment of windborne debris for structures in wind hazard.

Keywords

typhoon / windborne debris / structural envelopes / damage estimation