Measurements of shear stress distribution over a flat roof as a function of parapet height, wind direction, and roof roughness

Ahsanullah, Md Safwan; Kaye, Nigel Berkeley

doi:10.1016/j.awe.2025.100071

Wind fragility curves for roof sheathing were developed for single-family building models to investigate the effects of roof shape and roof pitch on the wind performance of roof sheathing. For gable roofs, it was found that more complex roof shapes are more likely to suffer roof sheathing damage when subjected to high winds. The probability of no roof sheathing failure can be up to 36% higher for a simple gable roof than for a complex gable roof. For hip roofs with different configurations, variation in roof shape has minimal effect on roof sheathing fragility. Roof pitch effects were also evaluated for 10 pitch angles, ranging from 14° to 45°. Results suggest that for roof pitches smaller than 27°, the effects of this angle are more substantial on the performance of gable roofs than on hip roofs. For gable roofs, the probability of no roof sheathing failure can be up to 23% higher for a 23° roof pitch than that for an 18° roof pitch. Furthermore, the inclusion of complex roof shapes in a regional hurricane loss model for New Hanover County, North Carolina, accounted for a 44% increase in estimated annual expected losses from roof sheathing damages compared to a scenario in which all roofs are assumed to have rectangular roof shapes. Therefore, to avoid an underestimation of roof damages due to high-wind impact, the inclusion of complex roof geometries in hurricane loss modeling is strongly recommended.

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