Performance-based assessment of envelope and structural systems of high-rise buildings subjected to collapse-level extreme winds

Performance-based wind engineering (PBWE) increasingly requires integrated assessment of building envelope damage and main wind force-resisting system (MWFRS) behavior under extreme winds. Prior envelope–structure PBWE studies have modeled progressive envelope damage driven by inter-story drift and net wind pressure, but have generally relied on linear elastic or simplified post-elastic structural models. As a result, the state of the envelope system as the MWFRS develops severe nonlinear damage and approaches collapse remains insufficiently understood. This paper extends prior envelope–structure PBWE work by coupling an existing progressive envelope damage model with a collapse-capable nonlinear modeling framework for the MWFRS. The resulting framework is applied to a 45-story reinforced concrete archetype building subjected to collapse-level wind events, with structural and load uncertainties propagated using generalized stratified sampling. The study examines how damage to the envelope system, specifically a glazed curtain wall system, evolves as the MWFRS degrades, how much of this system remains attached at or near collapse, and whether large envelope losses challenge the one-way coupling assumption commonly adopted in envelope–structure assessment. Results show that pressure-induced damage controls envelope reliability, while structural nonlinear response and drift-induced damage can accelerate pressure-induced blowout as collapse is approached. Extensive envelope loss is observed in collapse-level simulations, indicating that feedback from envelope damage to structural wind loading may become important near collapse. The results clarify the coupled evolution of envelope damage and MWFRS collapse while highlighting key modeling assumptions that govern envelope–structure PBWE assessment.