Wind and structural response monitoring of a lighting pole for the study of downburst effects on structures

Wind excited response of structures due to downbursts has been studied using wind tunnel simulations, computational fluid dynamics applications, and analytical procedures in the previous two decades. However, the studies have not been validated with full-scale wind and structural response measurements. To fill this research gap, continuous wind-and-structural response monitoring of three slender structures was implemented through the European research council-funded project, THUNDERR. This paper focuses on one of the monitored structures, describing the monitoring system, the dynamic and aerodynamic properties, and the registered data during two downburst events. The wind-excited response of the monitored structure during two case studies of downbursts is analyzed. The correlation between the wind speed and structural displacement parameters was also studied and the square of mean wind speed was found to be highly correlated with the mean displacement and the standard deviation of the fluctuating displacement. The fluctuating components of wind speed and top displacement were found to be partially correlated. The simplicity of the selected structure, and the possibility of obtaining both the quasi-steady and resonant components of the structural response from strain registrations, will make this study a benchmark for the validation of methods and simulations of downburst wind load.