CODIFICATION OF WIND LOADS ON BUILDINGS USING BLUFF-BODY AERODYNAMICSAND CLIMATOLOGICAL DATA-BASES

Current data storage and computational capabilities allow the developm ent of a new generation of standards whose provisions on wind loads ca n be structured as knowledge-based systems drawing the requisite infor mation from large data bases. We show several examples demonstrating t hat such provisions could be significantly more realistic and risk-con sistent than their conventional counterparts, which are of necessity b ased on reductive formulas, tables and plots. We point out the necessa ry interaction between development of knowledge-based standard provisi ons and the acquisition of aerodynamics and wind climatology data. Fin ally, we suggest that in addition to serving structural designers' nee ds, knowledge-based standard provisions could serve the insurance indu stry as certified hazard assessment tools that would be more realistic and dependable than similar tools developed without the benefit of ca reful public scrutiny and broad professional consensus.