Tornado structure interaction: A numerical simulation

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has developed guidelines for building code requirements for the minimum wind loads a building must be designed to withstand. The conservation or nonconservation on the ANSI approach was evaluated by simulating tornado structure interaction numerically with a two-dimensional fluid dynamics computer code and a vortex model. Only external pressures were considered. The computer calculations yield the following percentages of the ANSI design pressures: rigid frame, 50 to 90 percent; individual wall panels, 75 to 200 percent; and wall corners, 50 to 75 percent.