Performance evaluation of Canton Tower under winds based on full-scale data

Canton Tower is a 610 m tall tower, located at the edge of the most active typhoon prone area in the world. Therefore, the wind effects are critical to the satisfactory performance of the tower. Although the finite element analysis and wind tunnel tests have been conducted in response to this concern, the full-scale monitoring provides a unique opportunity to study the actual performance of the structure under winds. A sophisticated long-term Structural Health Monitoring system consisting of about 700 sensors has been implemented by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. This paper presents wind characteristics (wind speed, direction, and turbulence intensity) and structural responses (strain, acceleration, and displacement responses) during several typhoon events. A comparison between the full-scale data and wind tunnel predictions is conducted. Prior to modal identification, stationarity check is conducted and then different techniques are employed to identify the modal properties with errors. In addition, the amplitude-dependence in modal properties is investigated. Finally, the tower serviceability during different typhoon events is evaluated and the performance is found to be satisfactory from human comfort consideration.