Introduction
Design wind speeds for civil engineering structures are typically derived from code prescriptions, which are based on regional statistical analyses and standardized terrain conditions. While these code-based values ensure uniform safety levels, they may not always reflect local wind climate characteristics.
An alternative approach consists of estimating extreme (low-probability) wind speeds directly from long-term anemometer records. Airport meteorological stations, in particular, provide high-quality and often long-duration wind measurements that may be located closer to the construction site and therefore better represent local wind conditions. With the increasing availability of historical wind datasets, data-driven estimation of site-specific design wind speeds has become a viable and potentially more refined solution.
This thesis aims to investigate the consistency between code-prescribed wind speeds and those derived from measured wind records.
Aim of the Work
The objective of this work is to critically compare extreme wind speeds estimated from long-term anemometer records with corresponding values prescribed by structural design codes.
The study will focus on the development and implementation of a systematic workflow to:
- Download and preprocess long-term wind records from selected European airport stations
- Perform data quality control and statistical characterization of wind speed time series
- Convert measured wind speeds to standard reference conditions (e.g., terrain roughness, reference height)
- Estimate extreme wind speed distributions using extreme value theory (e.g., block maxima or peaks-over-threshold approaches)
- Derive return-period wind speeds (e.g., 50-year return period)
- Account for directionality effects in extreme wind estimation
- Compare the derived site-specific extreme wind speeds with code-based design values
The analysis will be carried out for multiple locations across Europe to assess geographical variability and identify potential systematic differences between measured-based and code-based approaches.
Methodology Overview
The proposed workflow will include:
- Data Acquisition and Processing
- Retrieval of historical wind speed records
- Data cleaning and consistency checks
- Normalization to Standard Conditions
- Identification of equivalent terrain roughness
- Adjustment of wind speeds to standard reference height and exposure conditions
- Extreme Value Analysis
- Application of extreme value statistical models
- Directional Analysis
- Evaluation of directional dependence of extreme wind speeds
- Comparison with Design Codes
- Extraction of basic wind speeds from relevant European codes
- Quantitative comparison and critical discussion of discrepancies
Required Skills
The ideal candidate should have:
- A basic understanding of wind engineering and atmospheric boundary layer concepts
- Knowledge of statistical data analysis, preferably including extreme value statistics
- Experience with MATLAB or equivalent programming languages (e.g., Python)
- Interest in computational modeling and data-driven engineering analysis
Expected Outcomes
The thesis is expected to:
- Deliver a reproducible computational workflow for estimating extreme wind speeds from measured records
- Quantify differences between measurement-based and code-prescribed design wind speeds
- Provide insights into the reliability and limitations of both approaches
- Contribute to the discussion on site-specific wind assessment in structural engineering
If you are interested in this thesis project, please contact Giulia Pomaranzi – giulia.pomaranzi@polimi.it