Numerical study of wind loads on low-rise gable-roofed building roofs——Analysis of roof pitch and height-width ratio effects

To investigate effects of roof pitch and height-width ratio upon the wind loads on the roofs of low-rise gable-roofed buildings,a series of parametric analyses were carried out on building models with different roof pitches and height-width ratios by means of numerical simulation combining with full-scale experimental verification.The numerical simulation was based on the Reynolds-averaged equations and the realizable k-e turbulence model. Through the parametric analyses the roof pressure distribution curves for buildings with various geometric dimensions were obtained and the variation trends of the roof pressure with respect to the roof pitch and height-width ratio were summarized accordingly.The obtained results indicated that the magnitude of the windward roof pressure tends to decrease while that of the leeward roof pressure tends to increase with the increase of roof pitch.The recommended roof pitches are 15°～25°.The magnitude of the roof pressure increases with the increase of height-width ratio.