Typhoon Wind Hazard Estimation and Mapping for Coastal Region in Mainland China

Eight or nine tropical cyclones (TC) per year make landfall over mainland China and cause large typhoon wind speeds and economic loss. This study estimates the return period value of the annual maximum typhoon wind speed, upsilon T, for a set of grid points in the coastal region of mainland China. upsilon T can be used to characterize the typhoon's wind hazard and to assign the wind load in design codes. The estimation uses a typhoon wind hazard model consisting of the TC track and wind field models. For the estimation, the development of track model for a circular subregion centered at each of the grid points is carried out by using the best-track dataset from China Meteorological Administration, and a well-accepted wind field model for simulating the TC is adopted. The spatial trends of the parameters controlling the track model are investigated, and the time histories of the wind speeds estimated by using the adopted wind field model are compared with those observed from two historical typhoon events. The estimated upsilon T values at the grid points are used to develop the typhoon wind hazard contour maps. A comparison of the contour maps to those recommended in the Chinese design code is given. The comparison provides a forward step towards the rational assessment of the wind pressure implemented in Chinese design codes. (C) 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.