A novel spectral method for cross-wind vibrations: Application to 27 full-scale chimneys

The paper presents a collection of full-scale data selected from literature concerning measurements of cross-wind vibrations of chimneys. They belong to the original set of data, from which current codified methodologies - the Spectral Method by Vickery&Basu (1983) and the Effective Correlation Length Method by Ruscheweyh (1986) - were developed. The full-scale samples are critically reviewed; uncertain estimations and observations by eye are discarded. The application of the codified methodologies to the selection of full-scale chimneys reveals several inconsistencies in the prediction of cross-wind oscillations. The paper presents a novel Spectral Method, whose predictions reproduce very well the oscillations measured in full-scale. The method is developed through wind tunnel tests in forced-vibrations. The key is the modification of the aeroelastic damping model in the well-known Vickery Spectral Method.