Large-Scale Wind Tunnel Tests of Canopies Attached to Low-Rise Buildings
Publication: Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 23, Issue 1
Abstract
Canopies attached to residential and other buildings are predominantly lightweight structures with both surfaces exposed to the wind; therefore, their design is mostly governed by wind-induced loads. Currently, only limited information exists for the design of attached canopies against wind action in building codes and wind standards, which justifies the need to further investigate the wind effects on these structures to establish reliable design recommendations. The pressure distribution on the canopy surfaces, as well as the net component, is highly affected by the wind field around the canopy; therefore, its dimensions, location, and wind direction need to be considered. To investigate the effects of these parameters, in this study, a set of six 1:6 scaled model configurations of a low-rise building with different attached canopy dimensions and locations were tested at boundary-layer flow in the Wall of Wind Research Facility at Florida International University. The results are presented as local and area distributed pressure coefficients on the upper and lower surfaces of the canopy as well as net values. The interpretation of the experimentally acquired data revealed that the increase of the installation height of the canopy can lead to higher net suction pressures on its surface, whereas the length and horizontal location of the canopy will not significantly affect the peak wind-induced pressures. Finally, the results were utilized to develop envelope lines for codification purposes, which were also compared to the limited available studies and design provisions.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors express their appreciation to the Florida Division of Emergency Management (DEM) and International Hurricane Research Center (IHRC) at FIU for funding this research. Special thanks are also due to Walter Conklin, Roy Liu-Marques, and James Erwin for technical support during this study.
References
ASCE. (2010). “Minimum design loads for buildings and other structures.” ASCE/SEI 7-10, Reston, VA.
AS/NZS (Australia/New Zealand). (2011). “Australian/New Zealand standards, structural design actions—Part 2, wind actions.” AS/NZS 1170.2:2011, Sydney, Australia.
Candelario, J., Stathopoulos, T., and Zisis, I. (2014). “Wind loading on attached canopies: Codification study.” J. Struct. Eng., 04014007.
Durst, C. S. (1960). “Wind speeds over short periods of time.” Meteorol. Mag., 89, 181–186.
Irwin, P. (2009). “Wind engineering research needs, building codes and project specific studies.” Proc., 11th Americas Conf. on Wind Engineering, International Association of Wind Engineering, Kanagawa, Japan.
Jancauskas, L., and Holmes, J. (1985). “Wind loads on attached canopies.” Proc., National Conf. on Wind Engineering, Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, TX.
Melbourne, W. H. (1980). “Turbulence effects on maximum surface pressures—A mechanism and possibility of reduction.” Wind Eng., 1, 541–551.
Mooneghi, M. A., Irwin, P., and Chowdhury, A. G. (2014). “Large-scale testing on wind uplift of roof pavers.” J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn., 128, 22–36.
Mooneghi, M. A., Irwin, P., and Chowdhury, A. G. (2015). “Partial turbulence simulation method for small structures.” Proc., 14th. Int. Conf. on Wind Engineering, International Association of Wind Engineering, Kanagawa, Japan.
Mooneghi, M. A., Irwin, P., and Chowdhury, A. G. (2016). “Towards guidelines for design of loose-laid roof pavers for wind uplift.” Wind Struct., 22(2), 133–160.
National Research Council of Canada. (2010). National building code of Canada (NBCC), Ottawa, Canada.
Tieleman, H. W. (2003). “Wind tunnel simulation of wind loading on low-rise structures: A review.” J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn., 91(12–15), 1627–1649.
Yamada, H., and Katsuchi, H. (2008). “Wind-tunnel study on effects of small-scale turbulence on flow patterns around rectangular cylinder.” 6th Int. Colloquium on Bluff Bodies Aerodynamics & Applications, International Association of Wind Engineering, Kanagawa, Japan.
Zisis, I., and Stathopoulos, T. (2010). “Wind-induced pressures on patio covers.” J. Struct. Eng., 1172–1181.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 14, 2016
Accepted: Sep 19, 2016
Published online: Oct 27, 2016
Published in print: Mar 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Mar 27, 2017
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.