This project studied the effects of wind tunnel test loads applied to purlins in low rise steel buildings compared to those determined with currently recognized wind loading provisions. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) database of low-rise building wind tunnel test data, which was collected at the University of Western Ontario (UWO) boundary layer wind tunnel, was used to model a realistic wind load scenario. Pressure coefficient data recorded in the database was applied statically to individual purlins in a typical design for the size of buildings studied. These results were then compared to those obtained using the wind design provisions in ASCE 7-16 Chapter 30 for Components and Cladding. The primary data of interest was shear and moment values along the length of the purlins, which were modeled as continuous beams. Comparisons were made between the resultant shear and moment from both the wind tunnel load and ASCE 7-16 load values at 1-foot increments along the length of the purlin. The results showed that the overall peak values obtained from wind tunnel test loads were 3% to 49% higher than those calculated using ASCE 7-16 for purlins that were on the windward edge of the building. Purlins on the interior of the building varied in whether they exceeded the loads calculated with ASCE 7. Changing the height of the structure and the terrain roughness both increased the number of purlins that were lower than the values provided in ASCE 7-16 in the interior of the structure. / Master of Science / Purlins are roof members used in low rise steel buildings to transmit wind loads applied to the roof of the structure to the frame of the building. This project studied the effects of applying loads to purlins using methods specified by the code compared to those found in a wind tunnel, to look at the similarity of the values and model the actual behavior of the purlins more accurately. For this study, wind tunnel test data obtained from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) database was applied to the purlins and the shear and moment was calculated. These results were compared to the current code requirements provided in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 7 document: Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures. The results showed that the loads developed in the purlins subjected to wind tunnel test loadings were 3% to 49% higher on the edge of the building than those that had the ASCE 7 design loads applied. More accurately modeling the behavior of the purlins using wind tunnel test data and beam models showed that in locations where the purlins received the maximum wind force, the ASCE 7 requirements for components and cladding tended to be lower than the wind tunnel test data. However, in locations where the purlins were not experiencing the maximum wind force, the ASCE 7 requirements tended to overpredict the loads, based on the use of symmetric high wind areas to design for all wind angles.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/99140 |
| Date | 25 June 2020 |
| Creators | Douglas, Mary Keith |
| Contributors | Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hebdon, Matthew H., Jacques, Eric Jean-Yves, Charney, Finley A. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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