• Wind and Structures
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.133-160
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• 2016

Hurricanes are among the most costly natural hazards to impact buildings in coastal regions. Building roofs are designed using the wind load provisions of building codes and standards and, in the case of large buildings, wind tunnel tests. Wind permeable roof claddings like roof pavers are not well dealt with in many existing building codes and standards. The objective of this paper is to develop simple guidance in code format for design of loose-laid roof pavers. Large-scale experiments were performed to investigate the wind loading on concrete roof pavers on the flat roof of a low-rise building in Wall of Wind, a large-scale hurricane testing facility at Florida International University. They included wind blow-off tests and pressure measurements on the top and bottom surfaces of pavers. Based on the experimental results simplified guidelines are developed for design of loose-laid roof pavers against wind uplift. The guidelines are formatted so that use can be made of the existing information in codes and standards such as American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE) 7-10 standard's pressure coefficients for components and cladding. The effects of the pavers' edge-gap to spacer height ratio and parapet height to building height ratio are included in the guidelines as adjustment factors.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 1994.10a
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• pp.47-54
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• 1994

Full-scale and 1:15 scale fluid model experiments of roof ballast pavers are employed to optimize paver geometry and study wind loading and performance of roof ballast pavers. Wind pressures above and beneath pavers are conducted for buildings of different heights and in different flow conditions. The effects of the side hole size and the underneath rib height under the wind loading on pavers and the effects of roof parapet height as well as flow conditions on the performance of pavers are studied. Incorporation of wind tunnel experimental results into code statements is also provided.