Wind Loading

Wind Load
17.8.2020
Wind Loads
 Wind loads probably cause more structural failures than

any other type of load.
 This is because- wind loads act normal to building surfaces
and can produce either positive pressures or negative
suctions.
 Structures must be designed to resist horizontal forces as
well as vertical forces from gravity.
 In addition, lightweight structures and roofs can be subject
to uplift forces from wind, and so they must be adequately
held down.
Wind Loads
 Like snow loads, wind loads vary throughout the country

and are based on meteorological data. Factors which
must be taken into account include:
 Geographical location
 Degree of exposure
 Building height and size
 Building shape
 Time of exposure
 Wind direction in relation to the structure
 Positive or negative pressures within the building.
 Figure 4.5a shows the effect of
wind blowing on the end of a
factory building.
 This is the worst case for uplift.
 The structural designer must

ensure that the structural
components are, both heavy
enough, and adequately
connected together in order to
resist the uplift pressure.
 Figure 4.5b shows the effect of
wind blowing on the side of the
same building.
 This is the worst case for

sidesway.
 The structure must be provided

with the means to resist the
sidesway forces.
Structural forms for resisting wind loads
 It is vital that the horizontal forces that result from wind
loads are given careful consideration in structural
design.
 The designer must provide a logical and coherent path

to transmit the forces safely down to the ground.
 There is the danger that a structure, which is designed to
support only vertical loads, will collapse as shown in
figure 4.6 under the influence of horizontal wind loads.
 The lateral stability of a structure is very important and
must be considered at the very beginning of a design.
 One approach is to provide a structural frame which has rigid joints.

 This is the approach usualIy adopted for the factory portal-frame buildings.
 Other structural solutions include the building of rigid infiII panels between
the frame members and the provision of diagonal bracing members.
 Figure 4.7 a shows the shell of a
small domestic masonry building.
 The precise behaviour of such a

building is complex, however, in
simplistic terms the walls which face
the wind span horizontally to
transmit the wind force to the
perpendicular walls which provide
the stability.
WIND
 Provided there are enough bracing walls in each direction,
the building will resist wind from any direction.
 It is also a requirement to provide adequate ties between

the walls and the intermediate floors and the roof.
 This is to prevent the walls from being sucked out by

negative wind pressures.
 The skeleton of a portal framed factory
building is shown in figure 4.7b.
 When the wind blows from the direction

shown, the gable posts span vertically
between the portal rafter and the base slab.
 The horizontal roof bracing then acts as a wind

girder to transfer the force out to the side walls
of the building.
 Finally the vertical bracing transmits the force

down to the ground.
RC SHEAR WALL
 It is particularly important to consider the

stability of tall buildings.
 Figure 4.7c shows one in which the wind

forces are resisted by shear walls at each
end of the building.
 They are normally made from reinforced

concrete.
 These must be securely anchored at

foundation level so that they can act as
vertical cantilevers.
Figure 4.7d shows a similar concept
where the shear walls have been
replaced by diagonal bracing.
 Stability can be obtained by anchoring the
building back to one or more internal cores.
 A single central core is shown in figure 4.7 e.
 Cores are normally made from reinforced

concrete, and they usually act as a fireproof
housing for lifts, stairs and service ducts.
 Shells, domes and arches (figure 4.7f) are
structural forms that usually have high
lateral strength, and hence are good for
resisting horizontal wind loads.
 (A shell, as the name suggests, is a thin,

curved membrane structure.)
Structural Forms to Resist
the Lateral Loading
17.8.2020
Structural Form
Instability problems arise due to an inadequate provision

to resist lateral loading (e.g. wind loading) on a structure.
There are a number of well-established structural forms
which, when used correctly, will ensure adequate stiffness,
strength and stability.
Stiffness, Strength and Stability
Stiffness determines the deflections which will be induced by the

applied load system,
Strength determines the maximum loads which can be applied before
acceptable material stresses are exceeded and,
Stability is an inherent property of the structural form which ensures
that the building will remain stable.
The most common forms of structural arrangements
which are used to transfer loads safely and maintain
stability are:
♦ Braced Frames,
♦ Unbraced Frames,
♦ Shear Cores/Walls,
♦ Cross-wall Construction,
♦ Cellular Construction,
♦ Diaphragm Action.
Braced Frames
In braced frames, lateral stability is provided in a structure by utilising systems

of diagonal bracing in at least two vertical planes, preferably at right angles to
each other.
The bracing systems normally comprise a triangulated framework of members

which are either in tension or compression.
Unbraced Frames
Unbraced frames comprise structures in which the lateral stiffness

and stability are achieved by providing an adequate number of rigid
(moment-resisting) connections at appropriate locations.
Unlike braced frames in which ‘simple connections’ only are required,
the connections must be capable of transferring moments and
shear forces.
This is illustrated in the structure in Figure 4.26, in which stability is
achieved in two mutually perpendicular directions using rigid
connections.
Shear Cores/Walls
The stability of modern high-rise buildings can be achieved

using either braced or unbraced systems or alternatively by the
use of shear-cores and/or shear-walls.
In most cases the vertical loads are generally transferred to the
foundations by a conventional skeleton of beams and columns
whilst the wind loads are divided between several shear-
core/wall elements according to their relative stiffness.
 If this is not possible and the
building is much stiffer at one
end than the other, as in Figure
4.29, then torsion may be induced
in the structure and must be
considered.
 It is better at the planning stage
to avoid this situation arising by
selecting a judicious floor plan
layout.
Cross-Wall Construction
In long rectangular buildings which have repetitive, compartmental

floor plans such as hotel bedroom units and classroom blocks, as shown
in Figure 4.30, masonry cross-wall construction is often used.
Lateral stability parallel to the cross-walls is very high, with the walls
acting as separate vertical cantilevers sharing the wind load in
proportion to their stiffnesses.
Longitudinal stability, i.e. perpendicular to the plane of the walls,
must be provided by the other elements such as the box sections
surrounding the stair-wells/lift-shafts, corridor and external walls.
Cellular Construction
It is common in masonry structures for the plan layout of walls to

be irregular with a variety of exterior and interior walls, as
shown in Figure 4.31.
The resulting structural form is known as ‘cellular construction’,
and includes an inherent high degree of interaction between the
intersecting walls.
Diaphragm Action
Floors, roofs, and in some cases cladding, behave as

horizontal diaphragms which distribute lateral forces to
the vertical wall elements. This form of structural action
is shown in Figure 4.32.
It is essential when utilising diaphragm action to ensure
that each element and the connections between the
various elements are capable of transferring the
appropriate forces and providing adequate load-paths
to the supports.
Assignment Criteria P2 and M1
• P2>> Discuss methods to resist or manage wind loading.
• M1>> Analyse the relationship between building form and wind loading.
End of Lecture

Wind Loading

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Wind Load

 Wind loads probably cause more structural failures than

 Like snow loads, wind loads vary throughout the country

 This is the worst case for uplift.

 The structural designer must

 This is the worst case for

 The structure must be provided

 The designer must provide a logical and coherent path

 One approach is to provide a structural frame which has rigid joints.

 The precise behaviour of such a

 It is also a requirement to provide adequate ties between

 This is to prevent the walls from being sucked out by

 When the wind blows from the direction

 The horizontal roof bracing then acts as a wind

 Finally the vertical bracing transmits the force

 It is particularly important to consider the

 Figure 4.7c shows one in which the wind

 They are normally made from reinforced

 These must be securely anchored at

 A single central core is shown in figure 4.7 e.

 Cores are normally made from reinforced

 (A shell, as the name suggests, is a thin,

Instability problems arise due to an inadequate provision

Stiffness determines the deflections which will be induced by the

In braced frames, lateral stability is provided in a structure by utilising systems

The bracing systems normally comprise a triangulated framework of members

Unbraced frames comprise structures in which the lateral stiffness

The stability of modern high-rise buildings can be achieved

In long rectangular buildings which have repetitive, compartmental

It is common in masonry structures for the plan layout of walls to

Floors, roofs, and in some cases cladding, behave as

• P2>> Discuss methods to resist or manage wind loading.

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