Correlation and Combination Factors of Wind Forces on Cylindrical Roof Structures

The correlations among wind pressures on roof and walls are examined for the cylindrical roof buildings with different rise-span ratios based on wind tunnel data. Wind-induced dynamic response is also analyzed with a parametric study concerning span length, rise-span ratio, stiffness of supporting frames and connection type between roof and supporting frames, where the roof system is a single-layer cylindrical reticular shell. For both roof and supporting frames, the responses induced by vertical wind loads on the roof and by horizontal wind loads on the walls are investigated. The correlation coefficients of these response components are examined. The results showed that the fluctuating wind pressure on the roof is strongly correlated with the wind pressure on the side wall and the leeward wall, but weakly correlated with the wind pressure on the windward wall. The response of roof and supporting frames caused by the wind loads on the roof is much larger than that of wind loads on the walls. On the bases of a comprehensive parameter study and complete quadratic combination (CQC) rule, a practical simplified combination rule is suggested for estimating response of roof and supporting frames. It is given as sum of response component caused by wind load on roof and that of wind load on walls multiplied with a combination factor of-0.20.