A New Set of Wind Response Modification Factors for U Plan–Shaped Building Under Nonstationary Stochastic Wind

ABSTRACT In the field of architecture, U plan–shaped buildings are quite popular for extracting maximum air and light from the atmosphere. However, the design of such structures under random wind effects is not straightforward due to the unavailability of moment, shear, and force coefficients in the design standards. Thus, in this research, an attempt is made to develop a chart that can be readily used for wind design of U plan–shaped buildings of an extended range of side ratio (SR) and aspect ratio (AR) in different terrains (TR). For doing this, the wind effect is simulated through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in Ansys. Subsequently, the nonstationary stochastic nature of wind force is also considered through a linear time‐history analysis accounting for flexibility and frame stiffness of the structure. The modification factors are obtained as the ratio of force coefficient, base shear, and moment of the U plan–shaped building to that of an equivalent square plan–shaped building. This form of modification factor also reflects the beneficial or detrimental effect of the U‐plan shape compared to the conventional rectangular plan–shaped buildings. The obtained set of modification factors is validated with already published data and observed to be in close conformity with the experimental results. This study further illustrates that the structural reactions of the building models are markedly influenced by the buildings' SR, AR, and the surrounding topography, as evidenced by the comparison of peak displacement responses.