Design Gust Wind Speeds for a Tropical Cyclone Affected Region

摘要

A number of extreme value analysis techniques are utilised to predict basic design gust wind speeds for Fiji, which lies in a tropical cyclone prone region. The study shows that a number of modern methods tend to highly under-predict extreme wind speeds in regions (of Fiji) severely affected by tropical cyclones, although their skills improve in less severely affected regions. The reference for comparison was Dorman's method, which has previously been utilised in the Australian / New Zealand wind loading code - the AS 1170.2:2002. In the case of Fiji, this study recommends the AS1170.2:2002 Region C provisions for Suva and the eastern coasts of Viti Levu, and the AS 1170.2:2002 Region D provisions elsewhere. This is significantly different to the provisions of the current National Building Code of Fiji (1990) which allow for the use of AS1170.2:2002 Region C provisions for all of Fiji. This difference is attributed to differences in the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones visiting the Fiji Islands as compared with those for Australian Region C.