Full-scale measurements and analysis of wind-induced response of Taipei 101 Tower

Taipei 101 Tower has a height of 508m and 101 storeys. Statistics analysis of wind-induced response data measured from Taipei 101 Tower during the passage of Typhoons Masta and Talim were conducted. The characteristics of wind-induced vibrations of the super tall building under typhoon conditions were investigated from the measured acceleration data. The measured results revealed that the structural modal parameters which obtained from a direct analysis of the acceleration data during the two typhoons are similar. The measured natural frequencies of the Taipei 101 Tower are larger than those from the numerical analysis. The measured mode shapes are in good agreement with those calculated from the computational model of the building. The damping curves determined using the random decrement technique based on the field data during the typhoons clearly demonstrate nonlinear energy dissipation characteristics. It is also shown that the damping ratio generally increase with increase in vibration amplitude during the typhoon. The measured damping ratios of the first modes in two orthogonal directions are larger than those measured from super tall buildings with similar structural systems. The peak and RMS acceleration responses measured from the 89th and 101st floor of the building during the two typhoons were all below the serviceability criterion stipulated in relevant wind-resistant design codes for occupancy comfort and it can be concluded that the Taipei 101 Tower would appear to satisfactorily meet the occupancy comfort criterion under moderate wind conditions. The presented results in this paper are valuable for the design of super tall buildings.