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Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 136-146). / Electronic reproduction. / Also available by subscription via World Wide Web / 146 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

Master of Science / Department of Architectural Engineering / Kimberly Waggle Kramer / The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has developed standards for the design of snow loads that occur on buildings and structures. These standards are published in the Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures, or ASCE 7, and are based on the findings of case studies and other scientific tests. However, design guidance on the possible reduction of leeward snow drifts at the junction of a roof parapet and a moderately sized roof step is limited and not specifically addressed in the ASCE 7. Therefore, a literature review and parametric study were performed to evaluate possible leeward snow drift reduction that could occur at the junction of parapets and roof steps. Leeward drift reduction was estimated using the Fetch Modification Method, the Direct Reduction Method, and the Simplistic Reduction Method for parapets with heights of 30 in. and 48 in. with upwind snow fetch distances from 100 to 300 ft and ground snow loads from 20 to 50 psf. More drift reduction was seen with the 48 in. parapets than with the 30 in. parapets. The Fetch Modification Method and the Direct Reduction Method gave relatively similar reductions across the range of upwind fetch distances, while the Simplistic Reduction Method gave larger reductions overall. Reductions in height for the Fetch Modification Method were between 0.25 ft and 0.42 ft, while the Direction Reduction Method returned 0.08 to 0.63 ft and the Simplistic Reduction Method returned 1.61 to 3.09 ft. Due to the large magnitude of reduction estimated by the Simplistic Reduction Method, the method was considered unconservative. From the results of the Fetch Modification Method and Direct Reduction Method, it could be suggested that parapets 30 in. or 48 in. tall could only provide a small amount of leeward drift reduction, roughly 7% to 8% of the original leeward drift height. Further research should be done to expand the heights of parapets examined and to incorporate testing and full scale observations to verify the reduction of the leeward drift.

Spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation in the Vosges mountain range area Abstract The aim of this work is to study the climatology of atmospheric precipitation in the studied area situated in the Northeastern France. Factors, e.g. the global circulation of the atmosphere, that influence the spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation in the mid-latitudes, especially in Western Europe and in mountainous regions, are discussed from the macro- to micro- scale in the first part. The term "ombric continentality" is clarified and a description of the physical geography of the studied area is performed, e.g. upward and windward asymmetry of Vosges slopes and contrasts between the mountain range and the Upper Rhine Plain. Secondly a demonstration is made that the Vosges mountain range affects, due to its position, the spatio-temporal distribution of precipitation at a regional scale. This is carried out by computing the daily rainfall on 14 meteorological stations out of the period 1951-2011. Three categories of stations were determined according to their annual precipitation repartition: (i) mountain stations with the winter precipitation maximum, (ii) leeward slope stations with two precipitation maxima, i.e. in winter and summer and (iii) leeward stations located in the Upper Rhine Plain East...

One of the communities in the path of Hurricane Charley as it came ashore August 13, 2004, was Punta Gorda, recording gusts up to 145 mph. This project utilizes aerial photos taken approximately 10 days after the storm battered the area, using a digital photography program. Focusing on the one-story residential structures (houses) of the Punta Gorda area, a damage assessment could be made of the area’s homes, and how they stood up to the storm. This study focused further on homes built after major changes to the local/state building codes went into effect (starting in 1996) after the devastation left in south Florida by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. After selecting approximately 20 damaged houses, damaged from wind loading only, an analysis of these houses (or types of houses) could then be undertaken complying with the most current building/wind codes used at the time of Charley’s landfall. Furthermore, by looking at the pictures, and using reports outlining the types of damage seen from the storm, the building/wind codes could then be checked for their effectiveness. After performing a wind loading analysis on houses similar to those seen in the selected pictures, and using the wind code provisions of ASCE 7-98, calculations show a substantial increase in local wind pressure to various zones of the roof. High pressure zones of the roof included the ridges of the gable and hipped style roofs, as well as the corners and the edges. More emphasis needs to be placed on the installation of the clay tiles (mandated by certain deed-restricted subdivisions of Punta Gorda). If the tiles are ripped off from the wind, then the roof sheathing becomes exposed to the environment, and if this becomes damaged, rain leaking down into the interior of the house would cause additional damage.

Thesis (Ph.D)--Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008. / Committee Chair: Lewcock, Ronald; Committee Member: Bafna, Sonit; Committee Member: Dowling, Elizabeth; Committee Member: Edwards, Jay D.; Committee Member: Nelson, Louis. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

Thesis (Ph.D)--Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

The West India Royal Commission of 1897 advanced a number of recommendations intended to lift the West Indies out of their depressed condition and to shape their future economic development. This thesis examines the efforts made to implement those recommendations and the extent to which they influenced economic progress in the colonies of Barbadoes, British Guiana, The Windward and Leeward Islands. Particular attention is directed towards the recommendation that the labouring populations be encouraged to settle on the land as small proprietors. This proposal provided for the welfare of the largely Negro populations of the colonies, but it also threatened to upset the plantation dominated nature of the agriculture economy. The Royal Commission believed that peasant land ownership could be extended only through the introduction of government schemes of land settlement. The considerations which underlay the success or failure of such schemes and of peasant proproetorship in gneral constitute the central theme of the thesis. Other aspects of the economu which are examined affected planter and peasant alike. Freight connections, choice of crops, methods of cultivation, availability of markets, and access to expert advice were considerations which determined the success of both plantation and peasant proprietary. The Colonial Office role in the development of these colonies was limited and for the most part initiative rested with the colonies themselves. Questions of crop selection, or of the location for a settlement scheme, could only be decided by local experts. Furthermore, Joseph Chamberlain, the most influential Colonial Secretary of the period, as far as the West Indies were concerned, clearly believed in delegating responsibility to the local official. Nevertheless, when appropriate, the Colonial Office did play an active part. Its influence over shipping contracts was considerable, whilst the survival of the valuable Imperial Department of Agriculture, established in consequence of a recommendation of the Royal Commission, was entirely due to Colonial Office determination in the face of Treasury resistance.

This study delineates the domestic architecture of the early colonial period in the American tropics in the first group of British colonies that survived. In 1624, the English made their first permanent settlement on St. Christopher in the Caribbean, then expanded to the neighboring islands of Nevis, Antigua and Montserrat. Of particular interest to this research was what the architecture would reveal regarding how the first settlers adapted to the new island environment, its geography, resources, climate, and people, in the first 100 years. The research involved the examination of manuscripts of the period in archives and collections in the UK, USA and Caribbean. The historical data accumulated was primarily inventories and brief descriptions of houses, business correspondence and a small number of official maps. A key resource was a document listing the losses of buildings and possessions suffered as a result of French raids in 1705-1706. The study views the recorded items not as losses, but instead as proof of what once existed, almost as newly found "treasure", and analyzes the items both qualitatively and quantitatively in order to reveal a clearer picture of daily life for the settlers, from modest farmers to wealthier land owners. The study identified house types, stylistic trends in the houses and their furnishing, patterns of use, and construction methods. The architecture recorded the British colonists' process of adaptation to the unfamiliar environment. The study found that Leeward Islands, in the settler period of English colonization (1624-1726) there was a significant degree of interaction and exchange between the Amerindian and British peoples. In addition, it found correlations with rural houses in the wider American tropical region.