Microsoft Word - Paper 6.docx The Journal of Engineering Research, Vol. 11, No. 2 (2014) 64-78 A Basic Wind Speed Map for Oman A.S. Alnuaimia, M.A. Mohsinb and K.H. Al-Riyamic a Department of Civil & Architectural Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, POB 33, PC 123, Muscat, Oman b Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Buraimi, PO Box 890, Buraimi 512, Oman. c Senior Structural Engineer, Central Design Office, Royal Court Affairs, PO Box 949, Muscat 100, Oman. Received 17 May 2014; accepted 14 September 2014 Abstract: The aim of this research was to develop the first basic wind speed map for Oman. Hourly mean wind speed records from 40 metrological stations were used in the calculation. The period of continuous records ranged from 4–37 years. The maximum monthly hourly mean and the maxima annual hourly mean wind speed data were analysed using the Gumbel and Gringorten methods. Both methods gave close results in determining basic wind speeds, with the Gumbel method giving slightly higher values. Due to a lack of long-term records in some regions of Oman, basic wind speeds were extrapolated for some stations with only short-term records, which were defined as those with only 4– 8 years of continuous records; in these cases, monthly maxima were used to predict the long-term basic wind speeds. Accordingly, a basic wind speed map was developed for a 50-year return period. This map was based on basic wind speeds calculated from actual annual maxima records of 29 stations with at least 9 continuous years of records as well as predicted annual maxima wind speeds for 11 short-term record stations. The basic wind speed values ranged from 16 meters/second (m/s) to 31 m/s. The basic wind speed map developed in this research is recommended for use as a guide for structural design in Oman. 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Alnuaimi, M.A. Mohsin and K.H. Al-Riyami 1. Introduction 1.1 Literature Review As Oman is not considered a potential earthquake zone, the effects of wind loads on structures are considered the dominant factor when determining lateral loads on edifices such as buildings, chimneys, power transmission towers, and satellite communication towers. Wind speed measurement in Oman is carried out by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Meteorology under the Ministry of Transport and Communications. As of the end of 2013, there were 55 meteorological stations throughout the country as shown in Fig. 1. The oldest station, at Muscat International Airport, was constructed in 1977. The stations measure the hourly mean wind speed, an hourly three- second gust, temperature, precipitation and humidity. Wind speed is measured at a 10-meter height in open and level ground by cup anemometers whereas wind vanes are used to determine wind direction. Basic wind speed (Vb) is the wind speed estimated by different methods to be exceeded on average only once in 50 years (Gibbs et al. 1981). Guide to the Use of the Wind Load Provisions of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 7-02 (Kishor and Delahay 2004) requires a 2% exceedance probability which equals to a 50-year return period. For crucial facilities such as hospitals, only a 1% exceedance probability on a 100-year return period is allowed. For structures with a low risk to human life if compromised, an exceedance limit of up to 4% is allowed. The Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures (ASCE/SEI-7-10) requires different exceedance probabilities in a 50-year return period depending on the location and occupancy category of the structure. It uses the three-second gust in the calculation of basic wind speed. The basic wind speed for the design of buildings in the British Standard, Annex B of the BS6399-2 (1997), depends on the hourly mean wind speed records. The monthly maximum of the hourly mean is used to obtain the annual maxima, which are used to develop basic wind speed maps. The basic wind speed has an annual risk of exceedance of 2% (a 50-year return period). Simiu (2009) stated that movement toward international standards appears to justify the use of 10-minute mean speeds, thus conforming to the practice sanctioned by the World Meteorological Organization or of other internationally acceptable measures of sustained wind speeds. A procedure for estimating extreme wind speeds at locations where long- term data are not available was reported by (Simiu et al. 1982; Grigoriu 1984). The method was tested on 67 three-year records in the USA and found to infer the approximate probabilistic behaviour of extreme winds from data consisting of the largest monthly wind speeds recorded over a period of three years or longer. Similarly, (Kramer and Gerhardt 1988) carried out a simulation process to predict extreme wind speed from actual 22 year records. They stated that it is not necessary to have 22 years of continuous records and that even a five-year record is adequate for showing good comparisons between the simulated results and historical data. Among many statistical methods, the (Gumbel 1958; Gringorten 1963) methods are the most popular statistical methods used in meteorology for calculating basic wind speeds. These methods have been used extensively for analyses of wind speed records in many parts of the world (Dyrbye and Hansen 1999; Holmes 2001). Harris (1996) re-examined Gumbel’s extreme value distribution for analysing annual maxima wind speeds or similar data and suggested an interchange of the axes of this method. He proposed an automated procedure that gives exactly the same results. An and Pandy (2005) made a comparison of methods of extreme wind speed estimation. They studied four different methods: Gumbel’s method, the modified Gumbel distribution, the peak-over- threshold method and Cook’s method of independent storms. These four methods were applied to a common data set consisting of six stations in the USA. They concluded that the standard Gumbel method tends to provide an upper bound estimate of 50/500 year design wind speed, and Cook’s method of independent storms estimates of design wind speed exhibits a 65 A Basic Wind Speed for Oman Figure 1. Locations of meteorological stations in Oman (names of stations are as provided by Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Meteorology). 66 A.S. Alnuaimi, M.A. Mohsin and K.H. Al-Riyami more stable trend with limited threshold sensitivity, which is in contrast with the rapidly fluctuating estimates obtained from the peaks over threshold methods. Abohemda and Alshebani (2010) used Gumble’s method to predict basic wind speed values for Libya for a 50-year return period from the data of 22 stations. Lakshmana et al. (2009) studied the wind speed data from 70 metrological centres in India and calculated basic wind speeds using Gumbel’s approach. Al Maawali et al. (2008) studied wind data from 10 weather stations in Oman. They calculated the basic wind speed using the three-second gust at the locations of 10 stations using the Gumbel and Gringorten methods. They found that both methods yielded similar results. Dorvlo (2002) used the Weibull distribution to model wind speeds at four locations in Oman. The scale and shape parameters were estimated using Pearson’s chi-squared test, the method of moments, and the regression method. It was observed that the estimates using the chi- squared test gave the best overall fit to the distribution of the wind data. Choi and Tanurdjaja (2002) studied extreme wind estimates in Singapore using Gumbel’s method and Cook’s method of independent storms. They concluded that the independent storm method and Gumbel’s method both gave quite similar results. Kasperski (2002) developed a wind speed map for Germany based on a refined extreme value analysis using high gust wind speeds. He divided the country into four basic wind speed zones ranging from 22.5 meters/second (m/s) to 32.5 m/s. Akosy et al. (2004) used the wavelet approach to generate hourly mean wind speed data using normal and Weibull probability distribution functions. They concluded that the wavelet approach can be used as an alternate to existing generation methods. Sahin (2003) developed an hourly mean wind speed exceedance map for Turkey using the Gumbel-Lieblein BLUE method. In this research, the Gumbel and Gringorten methods were used for the analysis of hourly mean wind speed records. 1.2 Problem Statement and Motivation Due to the recent extensive development of major cities in Oman, the trend toward building higher and lighter structures has emerged only during the last two decades. Wind load must be taken into consideration during the structural design of high-rise buildings, chimneys, transmission towers, and so on, requiring basic wind speed values. The basic wind speed is determined according to the climatic condition of each region. Before this research, the hourly mean wind speed data collected from 55 metrological stations had not been utilized in the development of a basic wind speed map for Oman and, as of this article’s publication, no local unified code or written regulations are available for the design of high-rise buildings. The need for a basic wind speed map that covers different regions of the country has become evident. The aim of this research was to develop a basic wind speed map which can be used as a code guideline or regulation for structural design in Oman. 1.3 Gumbel Verus Gringorten Method Gumbel (1958) developed an easily usable methodology for fitting recorded monthly or annual wind speeds. The ASCE (1991) stated that the Gumbel extreme-value procedure is well accepted by other investigators, including (Simiu et al. 1998). The Gringorten (1963) method is considered a simple modification of Gumbel’s extreme-value procedure. The only difference between Gumbel and Gringorten’s methods is in the calculation of the probability of non-exceedance (p). The procedure of calculating the basic wind speed is as follows: Step 1: Data are ranked in ascending order (1, 2, 3,.., m,) where m is the largest value. The total number of readings is called N (ie. number of years). Step 2: The probability of non-exceedance (p) is determined according to Gumbel: = (1) Gringorten: = .. (2) Step 3: Reduced variant, y is calculated as = −ln (− ) (3) i = record identification number. 67 A Basic Wind Speed for Oman Step 4: The data are plotted against the reduced variant, y, and a line of best fit is drawn, usually by means of linear regression. Therefore, if the best fitting line y = ax + u, then u = the mode of distribution = the intercept of the line and a = the slope of the line (scale factor for x). Step 5: For different values of the return period, Eqn. 4 can be used to calculate the basic wind speed, = + ln (4) where R = return periods in years (eg. 50, 100, etc.) and Vb = basic wind speed in m/s. 2. Methodology The basic information about Oman’s 55 weather stations is given in Table 1. More than 8,200 records of monthly maximum hourly mean wind speed were obtained from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Meteorology in Oman. Descriptive statistics along with box plot graphs were developed for each station to ensure the homogeneity and independence of raw data, and to exclude extreme outliers. The records were divided into three types: long term, short term and not considered. Long term means stations that have continuous records for at least nine years (29 stations); short term means stations that have continuous records of at least four years and less than nine years (11 stations), and not considered (15 stations) means records are not included in the analysis due to discontinuity of the records (less than four continuous years of records are required to be classified as not considered). The monthly maximum and the annual maxima of the hourly mean wind speed records of the 29 long term stations as well as the monthly maximum hourly mean wind speed records of the 11 short term stations were used in the analysis using Gumbel’s and Gringorten’s methods. The wind speed for each station was plotted against a reduced variate by the method of order statistics (ascending order), and a straight line of best fit was drawn. The intercept and slope of these lines give the mode, u, and slope, a, of the fitted curve to the Fisher-Tippet Type I (FT1) extreme value distribution, respectively. A comparison between the results given by both methods was made. A relationship between the monthly maximum and the annual maxima records was developed and used for predictions of the annual maxima basic wind speeds from the monthly maximum hourly mean wind speed of the 11 short-term stations. Finally, a basic wind speed map for Oman was developed based on actual records of annual maxima and predicted annual maxima stations records. 3. Data Analysis and Results Table 2 shows that the data used from the short- and long-term stations (40 stations with 6,736 records) are consistent, with very few records considered as outliers or extreme outliers based on box plot analysis. The extreme outliers have been excluded from the analysis of basic wind speed calculations. The two worst cases were 1.8% and 1.3% at Muscat International Airport and the town of Saiq, respectively. Figure 2 shows typical monthly maximum hourly mean wind speed data for Saiq from 1988–2013 based on a box plot analysis. The monthly records ranged from 5.564–21.896 m/s. This range is distributed into three areas to the left and right of the median, with each area representing 1.5 of interquartile ranges (IQR). Four records were excluded because they were considered extreme outliers. The equations for line of best fit and basic wind speed for the 40 stations are given in Table 3 and were calculated using the Gumbel and Gringorten methods for a 50-year return period based on the monthly maximum hourly mean wind speed. It is clear that in all cases, Gumbel’s method is conservative in predicting slightly larger values of basic wind speeds. The maximum and minimum differences between the two method values were 2.97% and 0.31%, respectively. Table 4 shows the equations for line of best fit and basic wind speed values for the 29 long- term stations using the Gumbel and Gringorten methods for a 50-year return period based on the annual maxima of the monthly maximum 68 A.S. Alnuaimi, M.A. Mohsin and K.H. Al-Riyami Table 1. Stations’ years of records and elevations (names of stations are as provided by Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Meteorology). Station Years of records Record type Elevation above mean see level (m) Adam 16 Long term 286 Adam Airport 4 Short term 328 Adam-Research 4 Short term 250 Al Amrat 4 Short term 105 Al Khaboura 1 Not considered 35 Al Mudhaibi 4 Short term 378 Bahla 16 Long term 592 Bidiyah 3 4 Short term 316 Buraimi 28 Long term 299 Buraimi New 3 Not considered 372 Diba 14 Long term 10 Duqum 11 Long term 28 Duqum new 3 Not considered 102 Fahud 22 Long term 170 Haima 3 Not considered 146 Ibra 16 Long term 469.2 Ibra new 1 Not considered 528 Ibri 14 Long term 323 Jabal Nus 6 Short term 706 JabalShamas 11 Long term 2764 Joba 11 Long term 34 Khasab Airport 10 Long term 29 Khasab port 28 Long term 4 Manah 4 Short term 345 Mahdha 1 Not considered 15 Majis 31 Long term 2 Majis new 3 Not considered 0 Marmul 29 Long term 269 Masirah 28 Long term 19 Mina salalah 17 Long term 25 Mina sabouy 1 13 Long term 3 Muscat Airport 37 Long term 8.4 Muscat new 1 Not considered 12 New bahala 1 Not considered 12 New samail 1 Not considered 417 Nizwa 15 Long term 462 Qairoon 15 Long term 881 69 A Basic Wind Speed for Oman Qalhat 14 Long term 11 Qarnalam 11 Not considered 139 Qumaira 4 Short term 633 Rasalhad 9 Long term 43 Rustaq 16 Long term 322 Saham 1 Not considered 24 Saiq 26 Long term 1986 Saiq new 11 Not considered 1995 Salalah 28 Long term 23 Samail 16 Long term 417 Sunaynah 5 Short term 257 Sur 29 Long term 13 Suwaiq 4 Short term 38 Thumrait 28 Long term 448 Um zamaim 3 Not considered 126 Wave rider 0 Not considered 0 Yalooni 15 Long term 156 Yalooni Airport "Ajais" 2 Not considered 172.3 Table 2. Outliers and extreme outliers of wind speed data for long- and short-term stations. Station No. of records Outliers Extreme outliers 1 Adam 120 5 1 2 Adam Airport 89 none none 3 Al Amrat 45 1 none 4 Al Mudhaibi 39 none none 5 Bahla 185 none none 6 Bidiyah 44 none 1 7 Buraimi 288 2 1 8 Diba 153 1 none 9 Duqum 115 3 none 10 Duqum new 58 none none 11 Fahud 178 4 none 12 Ibra 182 1 none 13 Ibri 139 none none 14 Jabal Nus 59 1 none 15 Jabal Shams 118 5 none 16 Joba 123 none none 17 Khasab Airport 105 none none 18 Khasab Port 246 2 none 19 Majis 365 5 1 20 Marmul 261 4 none 70 A.S. Alnuaimi, M.A. Mohsin and K.H. Al-Riyami 21 Masirah 335 5 3 22 Mina Salalah 182 6 1 23 Mina Sa bouy 1 124 1 none 24 Muscat Airport 442 15 8 25 Nizwa 174 2 none 26 Qairoon 168 4 none 27 Qalhat 166 1 none 28 Qaranalam 93 1 none 29 Qumaira 37 1 none 30 Ras Al Haad 93 none 2 31 Rustaq 184 7 2 32 Saiq 311 2 4 33 Saiq new 111 3 2 34 Salalah 335 13 1 35 Samail 187 5 1 36 Sunaynah 50 1 none 37 Sur 331 2 none 38 Suwaiq 45 1 none 39 Thumrait 336 none none 40 Yalooni 120 3 none Figure 2. Monthly maximum wind speed for Saiq (1988 – 2013). 71 A Basic Wind Speed for Oman hourly mean wind speed. Again, Gumbel’s method predicted slightly larger values for basic wind speed. The maximum and minimum differences between the two method values were 7.58% and 1.85%, respectively. Gumbel’s method was considered for further assessment and a comparison between the annual maxima and the monthly maximum basic wind speeds of the 29 long-term stations. Due to a lack of long-term records in some regions of Oman, the monthly maximum basic wind speed from the short-term stations was used to predict the long-term basic wind speed in those areas using Eqn. 5. Vb(annual) = 0.76 + 1.21Vb(monthly) (5) R2 = 0.665 where, Vb(monthly) = basic wind speed based on monthly maximum hourly-mean (m/s). Vb (annual) = predicted annual basic wind speed (m/s). In the coefficient of correlation for Eqn. 5, R2 (0.665) shows an acceptable degree of correlation. Furthermore, analysis of variance (ANOVA) for Eqn. 5 resulted in a satisfactory hypothesis with P value = 0.000 for the given F- value (53.59) as shown in Table 5. Therefore, Equation 5 can be used as a conversion factor in the 11 short-term stations. Table 6 shows the 50-year return period for predicted basic wind speed of the 29 long-term stations based on actual annual maxima of the monthly maximum hourly-mean wind speed as well as for the 11 short-term stations using Eqn. 5.Return periods for 100 years or more (implying a low-risk level) may have to be extrapolated for exceptionally important structures, such as nuclear power reactors and satellite communication towers. Extrapolations of basic wind speed to higher return periods of more than 50 years for ultimate limit state design have not been carried out in this research due to the limitation of historical records, which are generally less than 37 years old. 4. Basic Wind Speed Map The basic wind speed values contained in Table 6 were used to develop a basic wind speed map of Oman using the largest reading in each nearby groups of values as shown in Fig. 3. As expected, the coastal regions of Oman recorded basic wind speed values higher than the interior regions due to the presence of the Al Hajer Mountains and the reduction of wind speed over the land. This is more pronounced in the Musandam Region in Oman’s far north where the basic wind speed dropped from 21 meters/second (m/s) in Diba to 16 m/s in Khasab. The basic wind speed values ranged from 16 m/s in Khasab, which is surrounded by tall mountains, to 31 m/s in Masirah, which borders the Indian Ocean. It is assumed that the basic wind speed at any location in the country will fall within the range of 16–31 m/s. This implies that for areas in the interior,, basic wind speeds that do not exactly fit in any given value(Fig. 3) should be assigned to the nearest higher level value due to similarity in topography and the absence of wind barriers such as mountains. It is worth mentioning that this research has developed basic wind speeds based on hourly- mean raw data which is in line with the BS6399- 2 procedure, superseding the previous method of CP3: Chapter 5-Part 2, which used the three- second gust which as is (Al Maawali et al. 2008). 5. Conclusion and Recommendations 5.1 Conclusion Hourly mean wind speed records were obtained from 55 metrological stations in Oman, and 40 stations with at least four continuous years of records were used in the calculation of basic wind speeds. The monthly maximum and the annual maxima of the hourly mean were used in the analysis using Gumbel and Gringorten’s methods. It was found that Gumbel’s method predicted slightly larger values of basic wind speed than Gringorten’s. The maximum and minimum differences between the two method values were 2.97 and 0.31%, respectively, in the case of monthly maximum hourly mean and 7.58 and 1.85%, 72 A.S. Alnuaimi, M.A. Mohsin and K.H. Al-Riyami Table 3. Linear best-fit equations for the 40 stations (monthly maximum hourly-mean). Station Gumbel Method Gringorten Method Gumbel Method Gringorten Method % difference Adam 1.3746x+8.7355 1.3396x+8.7451 14.11 13.98 0.91 Adam Airport 2.0007x + 10.832 1.8699x + 10.864 18.65 18.17 2.66 Al Amrat 0.8782x + 6.5392 0.8295x + 6.5485 9.97 9.79 1.87 Al Mudhaibi 0.7689x + 6.5824 0.7467x + 6.5899 9.59 9.51 0.83 Bahla 1.2814x + 6.4704 1.244x + 6.4818 11.48 11.35 1.18 Bidiyah 1.8098x + 8.8109 1.7025x + 8.8335 15.89 15.49 2.55 Buraimi 1.4081x + 8.3545 1.3784x + 8.3637 13.86 13.75 0.79 Diba 1.8632x + 8.1027 1.8033x + 8.1203 15.39 15.17 1.43 Duqum 2.6691x + 10.336 2.567x + 10.365 20.77 20.40 1.81 Duqum New 3.0118x + 11.723 2.8262x + 11.775 23.50 22.82 2.97 Fahud 2.062x + 11.224 2.002x + 11.242 19.29 19.07 1.13 Ibra 1.4357x + 7.3221 1.3959x + 7.3334 12.94 12.79 1.14 Ibri 1.4215x + 10.662 1.3705x + 10.677 16.22 16.03 1.18 Jabal Nus 2.4533x + 11.995 2.2907x + 12.044 21.59 21.00 2.80 Jabal Shams 2.6081x + 12.833 2.5159x + 12.857 23.03 22.69 1.52 Joba 1.5454x + 11.19 1.485x + 11.208 17.23 17.01 1.32 Khasab Airport 0.8294x + 8.1281 0.7926x + 8.1394 11.37 11.24 1.19 Khasab Port 1.3584x + 9.1348 1.3261x + 9.1447 14.45 14.33 0.80 Majis 1.7366x + 7.9534 1.7104x + 7.9604 14.74 14.65 0.65 Marmul 2.2194x + 11.472 2.1729x + 11.486 20.15 19.98 0.87 Masirah 2.0096x + 10.386 1.9926x + 10.391 18.24 18.18 0.31 Mina Salalah 2.4491x + 6.5257 2.3894x + 6.5406 16.11 15.89 1.38 MinaSabouy 1 1.3665x + 7.4038 1.3165x + 7.4181 12.75 12.57 1.44 Muscat Airport 2.743x + 8.7434 2.7187x + 8.7464 19.47 19.38 0.49 Nizwa 1.6017x + 8.4896 1.5528x + 8.5046 14.75 14.58 1.21 Qairoon 2.6519x + 11.215 2.579x + 11.235 21.59 21.32 1.25 Qalhat 1.9233x + 10.277 1.8677x + 10.293 17.80 17.60 1.14 Qumaira 1.7374x + 11.369 1.6592x + 11.392 17.80 17.60 1.14 QaranAalam 1.7374x + 11.369 1.7374x + 11.369 18.17 17.88 1.58 Ras Al Haad 1.5294x + 11.476 1.4585x + 11.497 17.46 17.20 1.49 Rustaq 1.5368x + 5.5871 1.501x + 5.5956 11.60 11.47 1.15 Saiq 1.5533x + 9.1184 1.5212x + 9.1286 15.19 15.08 0.77 Saiq New 1.7909x + 8.8229 1.7205x + 8.8426 15.83 15.57 1.64 Salalah 1.8437x + 8.224 1.8128x + 8.2326 15.44 15.32 0.73 Samail 1.1133x + 6.9427 1.0842x + 6.9508 11.30 11.20 0.87 Sunaynah 1.5861x + 11.034 1.4863x + 11.06 17.24 16.87 2.16 Sur 2.4025x + 12.569 2.3549x + 12.584 21.97 21.80 0.79 Suwaiq 0.9255x + 7.9023 0.8663x + 7.9165 11.52 11.31 1.92 Thumrait 4.4675x + 22.839 4.374x + 22.87 20.72 20.50 1.08 Yalooni 1x + 12.694 0.8671x + 12.728 15.68 15.47 1.34 73 A Basic Wind Speed for Oman Table 4. Linear best-fit equations for the 29 long-term stations (annual maxima of the monthly maximum hourly-mean). Station Gumbel Method Gringorten Method Gumbel Method Gringorten Method % difference Adam y = 1.715x + 11.59 y = 1.595x + 11.63 18.30 17.87 2.40 Bahla y = 0.848x + 9.460 y = 0.748x + 9.483 12.78 12.41 2.97 Buraimi y = 1.201x + 11.38 y = 1.092x + 11.41 16.08 15.68 2.53 Diba y = 1.624x + 12.19 y = 1.421x + 12.24 18.54 17.80 4.18 Duqum y = 3.512x + 13.74 y = 2.981x + 13.88 27.48 25.54 7.58 Fahud y = 1.413x + 15.79 y = 1.289x + 15.82 21.32 20.86 2.18 Ibra y = 1.325x + 10.46 y = 1.180x + 10.49 15.64 15.11 3.56 Ibri y = 1.542x + 12.89 y = 1.331x + 12.94 18.92 18.15 4.27 Jabal Shams y = 2.967x + 18.12 y = 2.513x + 18.24 29.73 28.07 5.90 Joba y = 0.918x + 14.63 y = 0.780x + 14.66 18.22 17.71 2.88 Khasab Airport y = 0.644x + 9.708 y = 0.541x + 9.735 12.23 11.85 3.17 Khasab Port y = 0.904x + 12.29 y = 0.825x + 12.30 15.83 15.53 1.93 Majis y = 2.378x + 11.39 y = 2.190x + 11.43 20.69 20.00 3.48 Marmul y = 2.311x + 15.28 y = 2.124x + 15.32 24.32 23.63 2.93 Masirah y = 4.100x + 15.05 y = 3.789x + 15.11 31.09 29.93 3.86 Mina Salalah y = 2.567x + 12. y = 2.310x + 12.07 22.06 21.11 4.53 Mina Sabouy 1 y = 1.345x + 10.16 y = 1.160x + 10 15.42 14.74 4.64 Muscat Airport y = 4.555x + 12.08 y = 4.268x + 12.13 29.90 28.83 3.72 Nizwa y = 1.091x + 12.17 y = 0.959x + 12.20 16.44 15.95 3.05 Qairoon y = 2.209x + 13.98 y = 1.925x + 14.05 22.62 21.58 4.82 Qalhat y = 1.614x + 15.22 y = 1.420x + 15.27 21.53 20.83 3.40 Ras Al Haad y = 2.898x + 14.62 y = 2.486x + 14.70 25.96 24.43 6.27 Rustaq y = 1.672x + 9.103 y = 1.503x + 9.134 15.64 15.01 4.20 Saiq y = 2.509x + 13.54 y = 2.286x + 13.59 23.36 22.53 3.65 Salalah y = 1.909x + 13.12 y = 1.743x + 13.16 20.59 19.98 3.05 Samail y = 2.083x + 9.659 y = 1.866x + 9.701 17.81 17.00 4.75 Sur y = 1.848x + 17.59 y = 1.685x + 17.63 24.82 24.22 2.47 Thumrait y = 1.741x + 17.17 y = 1.627x + 17.18 23.98 23.54 1.85 Yalooni y = 1x + 12.69 y = 0.867x + 12.72 16.60 16.11 3.04 Table 5. Analysis of Variance for Equation 5. Source DF SS MS F p-value Regression 1 481.30 481.30 53.59 0.000 Regression error 27 242.47 8.98 Total 28 723.77 DF = the degrees of freedom in the source SS = the sum of squares due to the source MS = the mean sum of squares due to the source F = calculated F value (MS Regression/ MS Errors) p-value = the probability of obtaining a test statistic at least as extreme as the one that was actually observed, assuming that the null hypothesis is true. 74 A.S. Alnuaimi, M.A. Mohsin and K.H. Al-Riyami Table 6. Basic wind speed for 50-year return period based on annual maxima of monthly maximum hourly-mean. Station Basic wind speed 50-year return period Adam 18.30 Adam Airport 23.33* Al Amrat 12.82* Al Mudhaibi 12.36* Bahla 12.78 Bidiyah 19.99* Buraimi 16.08 Diba 18.54 Duqum 27.48 Duqum New 29.20* Fahud 21.32 Ibra 15.64 Ibri 18.92 Jabal Nus 26.88* Jabal Shams 29.73 Joba 18.22 Khasab Airport 12.23 Khasab Port 15.83 Majis 20.69 Marmul 24.32 Masirah 31.09 Mina Salalah 22.06 MinaSabouy 1 15.42 Muscat Airport 29.90 Nizwa 16.44 Qairoon 22.62 Qalhat 21.53 Qumaira 22.30* QaranAalam 22.75* Ras Al Haad 25.96 Rustaq 15.64 Saiq 23.36 Saiq New 19.91* Salalah 20.59 Samail 17.81 Sunaynah 21.62* Sur 24.82 Suwaiq 14.70* Thumrait 23.98 Yalooni 16.60 *Predicted using Equation 5 75 A Basic Wind Speed for Oman Figure 3. Basic wind speed map. 76 A.S. Alnuaimi, M.A. Mohsin and K.H. Al-Riyami respectively, in the case of annual maxima. Due to the lack of long-term records in some regions of Oman, the monthly maximum basic wind speed from the short-term stations was used to predict long-term basic wind speed. Accordingly, a basic wind speed map was developed for the 50-year return period using the basic wind speed from 29 stations with at least nine continuous years of records based on actual annual maxima as well as predicted annual maxima basic wind speed for 11 stations with 4–8 continuous years of records. The basic wind speed values ranged from 16 m/s to 31m/s. 5.2 Recommendations • The basic wind speed map developed in this research is recommended for use as a guide for structural design in Oman. • For future research, results from different Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) countries and Yemen are compiled and a regional basic wind speed map is developed. • Further analysis of future wind speed data need to be carried out every five years. • Special analysis of recent odd readings, such as those that resulted from Cyclones Gonu and Phet, should be made if such events recur frequently enough to establish records. 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