ASCE 7 Wind Load Calculation
ASCE 7 Wind Load Calculation
7-10
ASCE 7-10 provides two methods for wind load calculation: a simplified procedure and an
analytical procedure. The simplified procedure is for building with a simple diaphragm, roof
slope less than 10 degrees, mean roof height less than 30 feet (9 meters), regular shape
rigid building, no expansion joints, flat terrain and not subjected to special wind
condition. The analytical procedure is for all buildings and non-building structures. Each
procedure has two categories: wind for the main wind force-resisting system
(MWFRS) and wind for component and claddings (C&C).
Since most of our wind design considerations are for buildings other than the simplified
procedure stated above, let us tackled the Analytical Procedure approach that can be
applied both for buildings and nonbuilding structures.
The objective of this article is to help you decide which wind load criteria is appropriate for
your design as per the analytical procedure; here are the summaries of the wind load
analytical procedure approach as specified in ASCE 7-10. You are going to need a copy of
the ASCE 7-10 code for sections, figures and table references.
Determine the Velocity Pressure, qz:
One of the important aspects of Wind Analysis is the velocity pressure. Regardless of which
analysis approaches we may use, velocity pressure is a requirement. The velocity pressure
is depending on wind speed and topographic location of a structure as per the code
standard velocity pressure, qz equivalent at height z shall be calculated as
qz = 0.00256 Kz Kzt Kd V2 (lb/ft2) or
qz = 0.613 Kz Kzt Kd V2 (N/m2); V=m/s
where:
B 7 1200 365.76
C 9.5 900 274.32
K1, K2, K3 are determined from Figure 26.8-1 of ASCE 7-10 based on ridge, escarpment,
and hill. If site conditions and locations of structures do not meet all the conditions specified
in section 26.8.1 then Kzt =1.0
Wind Directionality Factor; Kd shall be determined from Table 26.6-1 and the basic wind
speed, V is according to Figure 26.5-1 of ASCE 7-10.
GCpi is the internal pressure coefficient from Table 26.11 of ASCE 7-10.
qi is internal pressure evaluated as follows:
Enclosed building:
qi = qh evaluated for windward walls, leeward walls, and sidewalls, and roof.
Partially enclosed building:
qi = qh for negative internal pressure, qi= qz for positive internal pressure at height z at the
level of highest opening.
Note: The internal pressure shall be applied simultaneously on the windward and leeward
walls and both positive and negative pressures need to be considered. Therefore, it
cancels each other for enclosed building except for the roof. For partially enclosed building,
internal pressure shall be added to the leeward wall at the height of the opening.
Wall pressure coefficient Cp for Gable, Hip roof (from figures 27.4-1, 27.4-2 and 27.4-3 of
ASCE 7-10):
0-1 -0.5
2 -0.3
Roof Angle 1 2 3 4 1E 2E 3E 4E
Pp is the combined net pressure on the parapet due to the combination of net pressure from
front and back surfaces; ± signs signify net pressure toward and away from the exterior side
of the parapet
qp is velocity pressure at the top of parapet.
GCpn is combined net pressure coefficient, +1.5 for windward parapet, -1.0 for leeward
parapet.
Figures 30.4-2A to 30.4-2C (flat roofs, gable roofs, and hip roofs)
GCpi is the internal pressure coefficient from Table 26.11-1 of ASCE 7-10.
Note: The internal pressure shall be applied simultaneously on the windward and leeward
walls and both positive and negative pressures need to be considered. Therefore, it
cancels each other for enclosed buildings except for the roof. For partially enclosed
building, internal pressure shall be added to the leeward wall at the height of the opening.
GCpi is internal pressure coefficient from Table 26.11-1 based on the porosity of the parapet
envelope.
Note: Two load cases shall be considered as per Figure 30.9-1 of ASCE 7-10.
P = qhG CN (30.8-1)
where
qh= velocity pressure at mean roof height h using the exposure defined in Section 26.7.3
G= 0.85 as gust effect factor.
CN is net pressure coefficients include from top and bottom surfaces given in
Figure 30.8-1 for mono sloped roof
64 ft × 104 ft in plan
Eave height of 30 ft
Dimensions
Apex height at elev. 36 ftRoof slope 3:16 (10.62°)
With opening
In our ASCE 7-10 wind load example, design wind pressures for a large, three-story plant
structure will be determined. Fig. 1 shows the dimensions and framing of the building. The
building data are shown in Table 1.
Although there are a number of software that have wind load calculation already integrated
into their design and analysis, only a few provide a detailed computation of this specific
type of load. Users would need to conduct manual calculations of this procedure in order to
verify if the results are the same as those obtained from the software.
p=qGCp−qi(GCpi)p=qGCp−qi(GCpi) (1)
p=qGfCp−q(GCpi)p=qGfCp−q(GCpi) (2)
Where:
Risk Category
The first thing to do in determining the design wind pressures is to classify the risk category
of the structure which is based on the use or occupancy of the structure. For this example,
since this is a plant structure, the structure is classified as Risk Category IV. See Table 1.5-
1 of ASCE 7-10 for more information about risk categories classification.
When viewing the wind maps, take the highest category number of the defined Risk or
Occupancy category. In most cases, including this example, they are the same. From Figure
26.5-1B, Cordova, Memphis, Tennessee is somehow near where the red dot on Figure 3
below, and from there, the basic wind speed, VV, is 120 mph. Take note that for other
locations, you would need to interpolate the basic wind speed value between wind contours.
Figure 3. Basic wind speed map from ASCE 7-10.
Exposure Category
See Section 26.7 of ASCE 7-10 details the procedure in determining the exposure category.
Depending on the wind direction selected, the exposure of the structure shall be determined
from the upwind 45° sector. The exposure to be adopted should be the one that will yield
the highest wind load from the said direction.
The description of each exposure classification is detailed in Section 26.7.2 and 26.7.3 of
ASCE 7-10. To better illustrate each case, examples of each category are shown in the table
below.
Table 2. Examples of areas classified according to exposure category (Chapter C26 of
ASCE 7-10).
Exposure Example
Suburban residential area with mostly single-family dwellings – Low-rise structures, less than 30 ft
high, in the center of the photograph have sites designated as exposure b with surface roughness
Category B terrain around the site for a distance greater than 1500 ft in any wind direction.
An urban area with numerous closely spaced obstructions having the size of single-family
Exposure dwellings or larger – For all structures shown, terrain representative of surface roughness
B category b extends more than twenty times the height of the structure or 2600 ft, whichever is
greater, in the upwind direction. Structures in the foreground are located in exposure B –
Structures in the center top of the photograph adjacent to the clearing to the left, which is greater
than approximately 656 ft in length, are located in exposure c when the wind comes from the left
over the clearing.
Flat open grassland with scattered obstructions having heights generally less than 30 ft.
Open terrain with scattered obstructions having heights generally less than 30 ft for most wind
Exposure directions, all 1-story structures with a mean roof height less than 30 ft in the photograph are less
C than 1500 ft or ten times the height of the structure, whichever is greater, from an open field that
prevents the use of exposure B.
A building at the shoreline (excluding shorelines in hurricane-prone regions) with wind flowing over
Exposure open water for a distance of at least 1 mile. Shorelines in exposure D include inland waterways, the
D great lakes, and coastal areas of California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska.
For our example, since the location of the structure is in farmland in Cordova, Memphis,
Tennessee, without any buildings taller than 30 ft, therefore the area is classified
as Exposure C. A helpful tool in determining the exposure category is to view your potential
site through a satellite image (Google Maps for example).
Topographic Factor, KztKzt
Since the location of the structure is in flat farmland, we can assume that the topographic
factor, KztKzt, is 1.0. Otherwise, the factor can be solved using Figure 26.8-1 of ASCE 7-10.
To determine if further calculations of the topographic factor are required, see Section
26.8.1, if your site does not meet all of the conditions listed, then the topographic factor can
be taken as 1.0.
Where:
B 7 1200
C 9.5 900
D 11.5 700
Usually, velocity pressure coefficients at the mean roof height, KhKh, and at each floor
level, KziKzi, are the values we would need in order to solve for the design wind pressures.
For this example, since the wind pressure on the windward side is parabolic in nature, we
can simplify this load by assuming that uniform pressure is applied on walls between floor
levels.
The plant structure has three (3) floors, so we will divide the windward pressure into these
levels. Moreover, since the roof is a gable-style roof, the roof mean height can be taken as
the average of roof eaves and apex elevation, which is 33 ft.
Table 4. Calculated values of velocity pressure coefficient for each elevation height.
Elevation
KzKz
(ft)
10 0.85
20 0.90
30 0.98
1.00 KzhKz
33
h
Velocity Pressure
From Equation (3), we can solve for the velocity pressure, qq in PSF, at each elevation being
considered.
KzK
Elevation (ft) qq(psf) Remarks
z
External Pressure Coefficients for the walls and roof are calculated separately using the
building parameters L, B, and h, which are defined in Note 7 of Figure 27.4-1.
From these values, we can obtain the external pressure coefficients, CpCp, for each surface
using table 27.4-1 of ASCE 7-10. Take note that we can use linear interpolation when roof
angle, θ, L/B, and h/L values are in between those that are in the table. For our example, the
external pressure coefficients of each surface are shown in Tables 6 to 8.
CpC
Surface
p
Table 7. Calculated external pressure coefficients for roof surfaces (wind load along L).
Windward Leeward
h/L
10.62
10° 15° 10° 10.62° 15°
°
Table 8. Calculated external pressure coefficients for roof surfaces (wind load along B).
0.317 -0.9
0 to h
-0.18
-0.9
h/2 to h
-0.18
-0.5
h to 2h
-0.18
>2h -0.3
-0.18
External pressure coefficient with two values as shown in Tables 7 and 8 shall be checked
for both cases.
26.6
10 0.88 (0.88) 35.35 (35.35)
3
28.2
20 1.94 (1.94) 36.41 (36.41)
0
-30.55 3.92 -35.88 -1.41
(-30.55) (3.92) (-35.88) (-1.41)
30.7
30 3.65 (3.65) 38.12 (38.12)
1
31.3
33 4.07 (4.07) 38.54 (38.54)
3
To apply these pressures to the structure, we will consider a single frame on the structure.
Sample of applying case 1 and 2 (for both (GCpi)(GCpi)) are shown in Figures 7 and 8. The
wind direction shown in the aforementioned figures is along the length, L, of the building.
Take note that a positive sign means that the pressure is acting towards the surface while a
negative sign is away from the surface. Bay length is 26 feet.
Figure 7. Design wind pressure applied on one frame – (+GCpi)(+GCpi) and absolute max
roof pressure case.
Figure 8. Design wind pressure applied on one frame – (−GCpi)(−GCpi) and absolute max
roof pressure case.
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From Chapter 30 of ASCE 7-10, design pressure for components and cladding shall be
computed using the equation (30.4-1), shown below:
p=qh[(GCp)−(GCpi)]p=qh[(GCp)−(GCpi)] (6)
Where:
We shall only calculate the design wind pressures for purlins and wall studs. Zones for
components and cladding pressures are shown in Figure 9.
The distance a from the edges can be calculated as the minimum of 10% of least horizontal
dimension or 0.4h but not less than either 4% of least horizontal dimension or 3 ft.
Based on Figure 30.4-1, the (GCp(GCp) can be calculated for zones 4 and 5 based on the
effective wind area. Take note that the definition of effective wind area in Chapter C26 of
ASCE 7-10 states that: “To better approximate the actual load distribution in such cases, the
width of the effective wind area used to evaluate (GCp(GCp) need not be taken as less than
one-third the length of the area.” Hence, the effective wind area should be the maximum of:
Effective wind area = 10ft*(2ft) or 10ft*(10/3 ft) = 20 sq.ft. or 33.3 sq ft.
Effective wind area = 33.3 sq ft.
The positive and negative (GCp(GCp) for walls can be approximated using the graph shown
below, as part of Figure 30.4-1:
10.97 -48.56
4 0.90 -1.0
45.43 -14.10
10.97 -54.83
5 0.90 -1.2
45.43 -20.36
The positive and negative (GCp(GCp) for the roof can be approximated using the graph
shown below, as part of Figure 30.4-2B:
-7.83 -42.30
1 0.30 -0.80
26.63 -7.83
-7.83 -79.89
3 0.30 -2.0
26.63 -45.43