Wind response of the Interama Tower of the Sun

• Published in: Computers & structures Vol. 6; no. 6; pp. 503 - 509
• Main Authors: Medearis, K.G., Peterka, J.A., Cermak, J.E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 1976
• ISSN: 0045-7949; 1879-2243
• DOI: 10.1016/0045-7949(76)90046-8

The proposed Interama Tower of the Sun is an 830 ft high tower supported by 168 guy cables with a skyhouse located between the 650 and 740 ft levels. The tower was to be located approximately 5 miles north of Miami, Florida. The site is flat open land, only a few feet above sea level, located a short distance inland from the seacoast—sufficiently close that no reduction in hurricane wind magnitude due to landfall can be allowed. A study was undertaken to determine overall loads and local pressures by means of wind-tunnel tests, and to determine the dynamic response of the tower to wind loads by means of computer simulation. Wind-tunnel modeling was used to obtain overall wind loading on the tower, to investigate possible vortex shedding phenomena, and to obtain local pressures on the skyhouse and legs. The computer simulation used to determine dynamic response modeled primary structural components of the tower as well as the guy cables, the latter introducing geometric nonlinearity into the model. Appropriate beam-column and cable elements were utilized to represent the structure, with wind loading being considered on all elements. Primary results are presented in the form of response plots. These indicate relatively minor tower responses for normal wind conditions, but increasing rapidly in the higher wind range of 75–130 mph.