Development and analysis of pressure tests to account for spatially and temporally varying wind loads

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Economic and insured losses due to severe wind storms continue to increase, both in Canada and around the world. Field observations following severe storms suggest that a large portion of this is due to failure of building components and cladding, rather than major structural failures. For example, the loss of a single panel can allow significant rainwater entry, causing substantial losses to building contents. To address this, several new full-scale labs have been developed in North America, including the Insurance Research Lab for Better Homes (IRLBH) at the University of Western Ontario (Western). In the current project, Western is partnering with State Farm, the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) and the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) to develop improved industry-standard, product tests, particularly those for vinyl siding and single-layer metal roofing. The project utilizes Western's IRLBH facility, as well as data obtained from the "full-scale" wind tunnel at the IBHS Research Center in South Carolina. Industry standard product tests are simple and relatively inexpensive, usually relying on uniform, steady pressure tests of relatively small specimen. This simplicity is at the expense of the true nature of wind loading, which is both spatially and temporally-varying, and of the boundary conditions for the product, which are simplified compared to real buildings. The applicant has developed a pressure testing approach that is able apply both spatially and temporally varying wind loads to both complete buildings and portions of buildings. The objective of the test program is to analyze and validate the performance of the existing test standards, and to develop modifications which improve the performance of the standard tests. The focus is on two common cladding systems, vinyl siding, used in residential construction, and metal roof decks, used for commercial buildings. Canadians will ultimately benefit from this research by having reduced losses in severe storms. Seven students will be trained during the course of this project.