Time–frequency analysis of structural dynamic characteristics of tall buildings

This study focuses on the correlations between the structural dynamic properties and the instantaneous response characteristics of a 492-m high building during a typhoon. An instantaneous analysis framework is established based on a combined usage of both linear-phase filtering and time–frequency techniques. This analysis framework can separate each modal response contribution without phase distortions. Random decrement technique is used to estimate the modal damping ratios. It is found that beating phenomenon widely exists in the separated modal response contributions, and the damping ratios correlate with the modulation of phase and amplitude within the beating closely. When the beating amplitude comes close to zero, the instantaneous frequency fluctuates evidently. The more intensive this fluctuation is, the larger the damping ratio becomes. An empirical model is presented to formulate the variations of damping ratio and natural frequency of this building with the fluctuation intensity of the instantaneous frequency.