Mean Wind Pressure Coefficients on Surfaces of Gable-Roofed Low-Rise Buildings

Abstract

To build an aerodynamic database for low-rise buildings, a series of pressure measurement wind tunnel tests were carried out on flat-, gable- and hip-roofed low-rise buildings in a simulated suburban wind field. Contours of statistics of point wind pressure coefficients on surfaces of the buildings were then drawn and disclosed on a website. The present study focuses on the mean wind pressure coefficients on roofs and walls of gable-roofed low-rise buildings for wind parallel or perpendicular to the roof ridges. The effects of building geometric parameters, height/breadth ratios, depth/breadth ratios and roof pitches, on the mean wind pressure coefficients on the building surfaces, which were sorted into four kinds of surfaces, upwind & downwind roof surfaces, crosswind surface, windward surface and leeward surface, are discussed. Based on these discussions, some new equations of the mean wind pressure coefficients are fitted as functions of building geometric parameters and the veracity of these fitted equations are compared with present test results and literatures.

Keywords

wind pressure coefficient wind load gable roof low-rise building

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