Response of the Allied Bank Plaza tower during Hurricane Alicia (1983): Fid-Bau Portal

Response of the Allied Bank Plaza tower during Hurricane Alicia (1983)

Powell, Mark D. / Georgiou, Peter N.

Abstract As Hurricane Alicia passed over Houston on August 18, 1983, a record lasting approximately 90 min was obtained of the wind-induced accelerations of the tallest building in the downtown area, the Allied Bank Plaza. Coincidentally, the building had been the subject of a detailed wind tunnel model study several years earlier, the results of which included the prediction of building accelerations as a function of wind speed and wind direction. From the many wind observations made during Alicia's passage inland, it was possible to reconstruct the wind speeds and directions experienced at the Allied Bank Plaza site which overlapped the period of the acceleration record. This reconstructed wind history was combined with the wind tunnel test data to compute a time series of estimated accelerations sustained by the building during Alicia's passage inland. The resulting favorable comparison of actual and predicted accelerations provides a valuable case study, illustrating the reliability of wind tunnel modelling within the design process for tall buildings.