Which wind direction exposed the overlooked Citicorp Center structural weakness?
The critical case involved quartering winds striking at an angle.
- Updrafts rising along the walls
- Winds hitting a face head-on
- Wind striking at an angle ✔
Why: The original checks covered broadside winds but not winds approaching diagonally. Reanalysis exposed the weakness, prompting disclosure and repair, a lesson in checking plausible load cases beyond minimum code assumptions.
Huh, didn't know that: Construction had substituted bolted brace joints for the originally specified welded joints.
The wind engineer checked every angle and found the diagonal had a point.
References
Answer: Wind striking at an angle. The original checks covered broadside winds but not winds approaching diagonally. Reanalysis exposed the weakness, prompting disclosure and repair, a lesson in checking plausible load cases beyond minimum code assumptions.
- University of Houston, William LeMessurier engines.egr.uh.edu/episode/2303
had met city building codes for winds hitting the building broadside but had not accounted for winds at an angle
Checked 2026-10-10.
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