Characteristic pressure distribution shapes and load repetitions for the wind loading of low building roof panels

This paper summarizes a study in which 128 simultaneous pressure time histories were measured over roof panels at various locations on a variety of low building models in two types of terrain. The pressures were analyzed using proper orthogonal decomposition to determine their characteristic shapes, and to determine potential simplifications of the complex pressure patterns. The effectiveness of the simplifications was evaluated by examining various structural loading responses to both the simplified patterns and the original time histories. Representative relationships between the amplitude and frequency of loading were derived.