A probabilistic approach to Performance-Based Wind Engineering (PBWE)

Performance-Based Design (PBD) is a modern and efficient framework to conceive and assess complex structural systems, which allow designers to consistently take into account both natural and man-made hazards, both in the design of new facilities and in the rehabilitation or retrofitting of existing ones. The first formal applications of PBD were devoted to seismic engineering and design; later it has been extended to other engineering fields, like Blast Engineering and Fire Engineering. Wind engineering has appeared of great potential interest for further developments of PBD. The expression "Performance-Based Wind Engineering" (PBWE) was introduced for the first time in 2004 by an Italian research project. In this work, the approach proposed by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) for Performance-Based Earth-quake Engineering is extended to the case of PBWE. The general framework of the approach is illustrated and applied to two example cases: a long span suspension bridge and an offshore wind turbine.