Experimental Assessment of Wind Loads on Roof-to-Wall Connections for Residential Buildings

Wind hazards are one of the most disastrous events that frequently occur in the United States. Hurricane Irma, which hit the southeast coast in 2017, left a majority of damage concentrated on low-rise buildings and wooden construction in its wake. As revealed by recent hurricane damage reconnaissanc...

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Main Authors: Changda Feng, Arindam Gan Chowdhury, Amal Elawady, Dejiang Chen, Ziad Azzi, Krishna Sai Vutukuru
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-02-01
Series:Frontiers in Built Environment
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fbuil.2020.00010/full
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author Changda Feng
Arindam Gan Chowdhury
Arindam Gan Chowdhury
Amal Elawady
Amal Elawady
Dejiang Chen
Ziad Azzi
Krishna Sai Vutukuru
author_facet Changda Feng
Arindam Gan Chowdhury
Arindam Gan Chowdhury
Amal Elawady
Amal Elawady
Dejiang Chen
Ziad Azzi
Krishna Sai Vutukuru
author_sort Changda Feng
collection DOAJ
description Wind hazards are one of the most disastrous events that frequently occur in the United States. Hurricane Irma, which hit the southeast coast in 2017, left a majority of damage concentrated on low-rise buildings and wooden construction in its wake. As revealed by recent hurricane damage reconnaissance, hardware-type roof-to-wall connections are especially vulnerable to high wind suction. There is only limited research on the assessment of wind loads on these roof-to-wall connections, which are important components of the wind load path. Hence, it is essential to have realistic estimates of wind effects on these connections to ensure a safe design. To fill this fundamental knowledge gap, an extensive large-scale aerodynamic testing study has been recently conducted at the NSF-Natural Hazard Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) Wall of Wind (WOW) Experimental Facility (EF) to investigate wind actions resulting from simulated hurricane force winds. A wooden gable roof building of a large length scale of 1:4 was adopted for this study. Seven trusses were used to construct the roof and were connected to the top plate of the side walls. Load cells were mounted at the roof-to-wall connection (RTWC) level to measure the effective net wind-induced forces. The model was tested under different wind directions varying from 0 to 360° with an increment of 5° under varying wind speeds. In addition, three different configurations, i.e., one enclosed and two partially enclosed, were considered to assess different internal pressure scenarios that affect the net loading on the roof-to-wall connections and the overall roof system. The RTWC force coefficients distribution along the entire roof was obtained. The results were compared to force coefficients recommended by ASCE 7-16 version for the cases of Main Wind-Force Resisting System (MWFRS) and Component and Cladding (C&C). The experimental results were in between MWFRS and C&C values based on the ASCE provisions in general. However, for partially enclosed case, some values slightly exceeded those based on the ASCE C&C provisions. Also, the overall uplift on the roof was found to be dependent on the location of the opening (i.e., opening on long side vs. short side of the building).
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spelling doaj.art-526350b6ed9442c48b2517f80697eba32022-12-22T01:36:33ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Built Environment2297-33622020-02-01610.3389/fbuil.2020.00010503074Experimental Assessment of Wind Loads on Roof-to-Wall Connections for Residential BuildingsChangda Feng0Arindam Gan Chowdhury1Arindam Gan Chowdhury2Amal Elawady3Amal Elawady4Dejiang Chen5Ziad Azzi6Krishna Sai Vutukuru7International Hurricane Research Center, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United StatesInternational Hurricane Research Center, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United StatesDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United StatesInternational Hurricane Research Center, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United StatesDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United StatesInternational Hurricane Research Center, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United StatesDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United StatesDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United StatesWind hazards are one of the most disastrous events that frequently occur in the United States. Hurricane Irma, which hit the southeast coast in 2017, left a majority of damage concentrated on low-rise buildings and wooden construction in its wake. As revealed by recent hurricane damage reconnaissance, hardware-type roof-to-wall connections are especially vulnerable to high wind suction. There is only limited research on the assessment of wind loads on these roof-to-wall connections, which are important components of the wind load path. Hence, it is essential to have realistic estimates of wind effects on these connections to ensure a safe design. To fill this fundamental knowledge gap, an extensive large-scale aerodynamic testing study has been recently conducted at the NSF-Natural Hazard Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) Wall of Wind (WOW) Experimental Facility (EF) to investigate wind actions resulting from simulated hurricane force winds. A wooden gable roof building of a large length scale of 1:4 was adopted for this study. Seven trusses were used to construct the roof and were connected to the top plate of the side walls. Load cells were mounted at the roof-to-wall connection (RTWC) level to measure the effective net wind-induced forces. The model was tested under different wind directions varying from 0 to 360° with an increment of 5° under varying wind speeds. In addition, three different configurations, i.e., one enclosed and two partially enclosed, were considered to assess different internal pressure scenarios that affect the net loading on the roof-to-wall connections and the overall roof system. The RTWC force coefficients distribution along the entire roof was obtained. The results were compared to force coefficients recommended by ASCE 7-16 version for the cases of Main Wind-Force Resisting System (MWFRS) and Component and Cladding (C&C). The experimental results were in between MWFRS and C&C values based on the ASCE provisions in general. However, for partially enclosed case, some values slightly exceeded those based on the ASCE C&C provisions. Also, the overall uplift on the roof was found to be dependent on the location of the opening (i.e., opening on long side vs. short side of the building).https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fbuil.2020.00010/fullroof to wall connectionwind loadswind tunnel testingwall of windopeningspartial turbulence simulation
spellingShingle Changda Feng
Arindam Gan Chowdhury
Arindam Gan Chowdhury
Amal Elawady
Amal Elawady
Dejiang Chen
Ziad Azzi
Krishna Sai Vutukuru
Experimental Assessment of Wind Loads on Roof-to-Wall Connections for Residential Buildings
Frontiers in Built Environment
roof to wall connection
wind loads
wind tunnel testing
wall of wind
openings
partial turbulence simulation
title Experimental Assessment of Wind Loads on Roof-to-Wall Connections for Residential Buildings
title_full Experimental Assessment of Wind Loads on Roof-to-Wall Connections for Residential Buildings
title_fullStr Experimental Assessment of Wind Loads on Roof-to-Wall Connections for Residential Buildings
title_full_unstemmed Experimental Assessment of Wind Loads on Roof-to-Wall Connections for Residential Buildings
title_short Experimental Assessment of Wind Loads on Roof-to-Wall Connections for Residential Buildings
title_sort experimental assessment of wind loads on roof to wall connections for residential buildings
topic roof to wall connection
wind loads
wind tunnel testing
wall of wind
openings
partial turbulence simulation
url https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fbuil.2020.00010/full
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