Method of estimating extreme wind pressure based on the Pareto distribution

In order to estimate extreme wind pressure with a determined guaranteed ratio, the Pareto distribution was applied to fit the tail part of peak wind pressures, which were extracted by using the autocorrelation of a wind pressure time history. The relationship between the Pareto distribution and the Gumbel distribution was also used for this estimation. The extreme wind pressure on the surface of high-rise buildings is closely associated with the safety of enclosure structures, so the accuracy of the calculated extreme value is essential. This new approach was applied to a high-rise building model repeatedly tested in wind tunnel experiments. The result show that the new approach delivers better estimations for the expectation and guaranteed ratio of extreme wind pressure than traditional methods such as the Gumbel model, modified Hermite model, and Sadek-Simiu model. Averaged standard deviation and specified warranty of wind pressure coefficient also show that the new approach provides not only more accurate but also more robust extreme value than current common methods.