An approach to the determination of wind load effects on low-rise buildings

A covariance integration method for the determination of fluctuating overall structural loads due to wind and their effects on low-rise buildings is described. The required aerodynamic information can be obtained from boundary-layer wind tunnel tests; static structural-influence coefficients are also required. The method is an alternative to the direct on-line weighting technique, but is less demanding on wind tunnel instrumentation and data acquisition facilities. To obtain peak values, Gaussian probability distributions have been assumed for the loads or their effects. Use of the method is demonstrated by calculations of gust factors and peak values for various structural loads on the central bay of a single-storey house, using aerodynamic data obtained from a 150-scale wind tunnel model.