Abstract As part of the study on the effects of parapets on wind-induced loads on low buildings, measurements of the pressures on parapet surfaces have been carried out. Pressures were measured on both the exterior and interior for several parapet heights, h =0.46, 0.9, 1.8, 2.7 m, and building heights, H =4.6, 9.1, 18 m, for both a uniform perimetric parapet and an isolated parapet on one wall. These data were used to quantify the local (component and cladding) and structural wind loads on the parapets. It was found that the worst structural load coefficients over all wind angles are approximately constant with h and H because of opposing trends of the pressures on the interior and exterior parapet surfaces. That is, the loads increase on the interior surface with H (as they do for roof loads), while decreasing on the exterior surface. The current structural load coefficients prescribed by the ASCE 7-02 capture this well for the building configurations considered. However, the suction component and cladding loads on the interior surface of isolated parapets are not well captured by the code.
[1]
G. Kopp,et al.
The UWO contribution to the NIST aerodynamic database for wind loads on low buildings: Part 2. Comparison of data with wind load provisions
,
2005
.
[2]
David Surry,et al.
Wind effects of parapets on low buildings: Part 1. Basic aerodynamics and local loads
,
2005
.
[3]
David Surry,et al.
Wind effects of parapets on low buildings: Part 4. Mitigation of corner loads with alternative geometries
,
2005
.
[4]
N. Null.
Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures
,
2003
.
[5]
G. Kopp,et al.
Wind effects of parapets on low buildings: Part 2. Structural loads
,
2005
.
[6]
T. Stathopoulos,et al.
Wind Pressures on Parapets of Flat Roofs
,
2002
.
[7]
Theodore Stathopoulos,et al.
Wind loads on parapets
,
2002
.