This paper discusses the appropriate duration for basic gust wind speeds in wind loading codes and standards, and in wind engineering generally. Although various proposed definitions are discussed, the 'moving average' gust duration has been widely accepted internationally. The commonly-specified gust duration of 3-seconds, however, is shown to have a significant effect on the high-frequency end of the spectrum of turbulence, and may not be ideally suited for wind engineering purposes. The effective gust durations measured by commonly-used anemometer types are discussed; these are typically considerably shorter than the 'standard' duration of 3 seconds. Using stationary random process theory, the paper gives expected peak factors, g(u) as a function of the non-dimensional parameter (T/tau), where tau is the sample, or reference, time, and tau is the gust duration, and a non-dimensional mean wind speed, (U) over bar .T/L-w where (U) over bar is a mean wind speed, and L-u, is the integral length scale of turbulence. The commonly-used Durst relationship, relating gusts of various durations, is shown to correspond to a particular value of turbulence intensity I-u, of 16.5%, and is therefore applicable to particular terrain and height situations, and hence should not be applied universally. The effective frontal areas associated with peak gusts of various durations are discussed; this indicates that a gust of 3 seconds has an equivalent frontal area equal to that of a tall building Finally a generalized gust response factor format, accounting for fluctuating and resonant along-wind loading of structures, applicable to any code is presented.
