WIND LOADS

(MS 1553:2002)

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 LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this lecture, students should:

1. Be able to discuss the physical nature of wind loads in order to

quantify the magnitudes and direction related to design loads
(CO3–PO3).

2. Know the definition of the basic wind speed for MS1553

(CO3–PO3).

3. Be able to describe the main feature which influence the wind

load imposed on a structure (CO3–PO3).
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 LEARNING OUTCOMES
4. Be able to analyse and determine the wind pressure in a
structure (CO1–PO3,4 &CO3–PO4).

5. Be able to identify the external pressure coefficient (CO3–

PO3).
6. Be able to design the enclosed building for base shear and base
overturning moment, internal pressure and roof (CO1–PO3,4
&CO3–PO4).
7. Be able to design signboard and hoarding (CO1–PO3,4 &CO3–
PO4).

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 Code
1. There are many codes available for determination for wind
loadings on structures. For this lecture, the code shall be:

MS 1553: 2002 Code of Practice for Wind Loadings

for Buildings Structure

2. Symbols and clause references mentioned in this chapter refer

to the above code unless noted otherwise.

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 Wind Pressure
1. Wind is the movement of air mass, and the moving air mass
possesses kinetic energy.

2. When the air movement is stopped by a structure, the kinetic

energy is converted to potential energy, which exerts dynamic
pressure qs on the external part of the structure. The dynamic
pressure (or potential energy) is the wind load, usually in units of
Pa (N/m2) or kPa (kN/m2), and usually acts normal to the walls,
roofs or other surfaces of the structure.

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3. Not all the kinetic energy (KE) is converted to potential energy
(PE). The degree of conversion depends on the aerodynamic
shape of the structure. The more aerodynamic the structure is,
the less the energy conversion and thus the smaller the dynamic
pressure on the structure. The external pressure coefficients (Cp,e,
Cf, Cp,n etc.) account for the degree of conversion from KE to
PE.

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4. In addition to the normal pressure, wind also induces frictional
forces called frictional drag forces, which acts parallel to the
surface of the structure. The frictional drag coefficient (Cf)
accounts for the degree of conversion from KE to PE. When the
surface parallel the wind is long or has corrugations, the
frictional drag forces will be large.

5. There are many factors that influence the external pressure

coefficients and drag coefficients. All these factors are combined
together and collectively called the aerodynamic shape factor
Cfig.

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 6. In addition, the dynamic wind pressure can cause vibrations in the
structure, which in turn interacts with the wind to cause additional
dynamic stresses in the structure. This phenomena is called
dynamic amplification, is particularly important in flexible
structures whose natural frequency is less than 1 Hz. These
structures are called wind sensitive structures and are accounted
for using the dynamic response factor Cdyn.

7. Thus, the design wind pressure is given by:

Pressure = K.E × aerodynamic shape factor × dynamic response

factor ----- (1)

where K.E = ½ × mass of air × (design wind speed) ----- (2)

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8. The design wind pressure in units of Pascal (Pa) (Cl 2.4.1) is
given by:
p = (0.5air) (Vdes)2 Cfig Cdyn -----
(3)

where air is the density of air = 1.225 kg/m3

Vdes is the design wind speed
Cfig is the aerodynamic shape factor given in Section 5
Cdyn is the dynamic response factor which shall be taken as
1.0 unless the structure is wind sensitive (see Section 6)

9. However, the minimum wind pressure must NOT be less than

0.65 kPa (Cl 2.4.2).
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 Wind Speed
1. Design Wind Speed

The design wind speed (Cl 2.4.1) is given by:

Vdes = Vsit × I -----

(4)

where Vsit is the site wind speed (Cl 2.2)

I is the importance factor given in Table 3.2.

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2. Site Wind Speed

The site wind speed, Vsit = Vs Md Mz,cat Mh Ms -----

(5)

is the wind speed at the average roof height above the ground where
the structure is located and it is influenced by the following
factors:

i. Basic wind speed (Vs)

ii. Terrain and height of the structure (Mz,cat)
iii. Local topography (hill, ridge, valley etc) (Mh)
v. Shielding by neighbouring buildings (Ms)
vi. Wind direction (Md)
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3. Basic Wind Speed

The basic wind speed, Vs is defined as a 3 sec gust wind speed

measured at 10 m above the local ground level, in Terrain
Category 2 and has a 50 year return period. For other return
period, see Table 3.1 (Cl 3.2). The basic wind speed for
Peninsular Malaysia is given in Figure 3.1.

Note:
The 3 sec gust wind speed is the wind speed averaged
over 3 second time interval.

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MS 1553 : 2002

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4. Terrain/height multiplier, Mz,cat (Cl 4.2) refers to ground
conditions (or obstruction) within 3 km of the site which the
approaching wind must blow before it reaches the structure.

There are 4 categories of terrain:

• Category 1: Exposed open terrain with few or no obstruction, e.g.

seaside.

• Category 2: Open terrain with grassland and few well scattered

obstructions 1.5 m to 10 m high, e.g. large paddy field or areas near
mining pond.

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• Category 3: Terrain with numerous closely spaced obstruction
3 m to 5 m high, e.g. suburban housing areas surrounded by palm
oil estates or rubber estates.

• Category 4: terrain with numerous large and closely spaced

obstruction 10 m to 30 m high, e.g. Kuala Lumpur city center.

Note that terrain category can change over the life of the structure.
Thus, suburban housing areas can become downtown as development
progresses, and the terrain category changes from Category 3 to 4.

Height (Cl 4.2) refers to the distant from the local ground level to
the level in which wind speed is to be determined. The higher the
level, the higher is the wind speed.
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Thus, wind speed at Level 20 of a condominium is higher than that
at Level 3, and there is a distribution of wind speed which increases
from ground level to the roof level of a tall building.

The effect of terrain and height is accounted for using the multiplier
Mz,cat in Cl 4.2 and Table 4.1. It can be seen from the table that the
values of Mz,cat increases with height, z. Also, terrain Category 1 is the
least favourable whereas terrain Category 4 is the most favourable.

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5. Shielding (Cl 4.3) refers to the building or other objects next to
your structure that provides shelter from the wind. Note that the
shielding provided might not be permanent, in which case any
beneficial effect of the shielding must be ignored. The shielding
multiplier Ms accounts for the shielding effect of neighbouring
buildings.

6. Topography (Cl 4.4) refers to the local hill, ridges or valleys

where the structure is located. UiTM for example is located in a hilly
area, which can accelerate the local wind speed. The hill shape
multiplier Mh accounts for the local topographic conditions.

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7. Wind direction refers to the predominant strong direction which
the
wind tends to blow from. For example, during the north-east
monsoon, the strong wind tends to blow from the north-east direction
in Kelantan and other the east coast states. The wind directional
factor Md is usually taken as 1.0 unless there are more information to
justify a smaller value. 20
8. Importance Factor (Table 3.2)

Certain structures are considered more important because they have

high hazard to human life. Typically, these are structures that are
necessary in the event of an emergency such as hospitals, fire-stations
and police stations or structures that have high occupancy (more than
300 people congregating per area). These structures have high value
of importance factor, I.

On the other hand, certain structures such as agricultural facilities

(e.g. barn to store tractor, animal food etc.) and temporary structures
(contractor’s site cabin) have low risk to human life. These structures
are considered less important and have lower value of importance
factor, I.
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 Aerodynamic Shape Factor
1. The aerodynamic shape factor Cfig is given in Cl 5.2 and each of
the terms shall be examined individually.

i. Enclosed building
Cfig = Cp,e Ka Kc Kl Kp for external pressure
Cfig = Cp,i Kc for internal pressure
Cfig = Cf Kc for frictional drag forces

ii. Free standing hoarding, walls canopies and roofs

Cfig = Cp,n Ka Kl Kp for pressure normal to the surface
Cfig = Cf for frictional drag forces
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2. External pressure coefficient for enclosed building Cp,e

It has been mentioned that the dynamic wind pressure is the

conversion of the kinetic energy (KE) to potential energy (PE), and
that the conversion is not 100%. The external pressure coefficient Cp,e
can be thought of as a measure of the degree of conversion. Thus, for
any external surface, we can write:

Wind pressure = p = PE = Cp,e × KE = Cp,e × ½ × air × (Vdes)2 = pmax

----- (7)

For an enclosed building, it is possible to divide the external surfaces

into windward wall (W), leeward wall (L), side wall (S), upwind roof
(U), downwind roof (D) or crosswind roof (R) as shown in Figure
5.2. 23
Each surface has different pressure coefficient tabulated in Table 5.2
and Table 5.3. Note that positive values in the tables imply wind
acting inwards into surface whereas negative values imply wind
acting outwards from the surface. In all cases, the pressure is normal
to the surface.

It can be seen from Table 5.2(a) that for building less than 25 m high,
it is permissible to calculate only one value of external wind pressure
(at the height z, equal to the average roof height) in the windward
wall (W). It is not necessary to compute the wind pressure at every
floor level.

However, for building greater than 25 m, wind pressures at different

heights (for example at every floor level) must be calculated and the
total wind force is summed using Eqn. (6).
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Note from Table 5.2(b) the leeward wall (L) always experiences wind
pressure that acts outwards from the surface as all external pressure
coefficients Cp,e are negative. The values of Cp,e are dependent of the
roof slope and d/b ratio where b (breadth) and d (depth) are
respectively the distances across and along the wind direction (Fig.
5.2).

The side walls (S) has external wind coefficients as illustrated below
where h is the height of the building. Note that the wind acts
outwards, and is highest near the windward edge. This is due to
separation of the streamlines at the windward edge, causing areas of
low pressure on the external surface of the side walls.

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3. Area Reduction Factor Ka (Cl 5.4.2) and Local Pressure Factor Kl
(Cl 5.4.4)

The dynamic pressure is not uniformly distributed. Different external

parts of the building are subjected to different dynamic pressure at a
particular instant of time. Bigger exposed surface area to wind will
have higher probability that the dynamic pressure will exhibit non-
uniform
distribution. On the other hand, small exposed areas (such as window
panels) will have high probability of having a uniformly distributed
loading.

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In addition, for any given surface, different parts of the building
experience the maximum pressure at different times. Again, the effect
of this non-simultaneous action (or non-uniformity over time) of the
wind is bigger when the surface area exposed to wind is bigger.

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It is apparent that surface area is an important factor in determining
the average wind pressure on a surface at any instant of time. Bigger
surface areas can expect to have a lower average wind pressure. The
area reduction factor Ka accounts for this area effect; the bigger the
surface area, the smaller the area reduction factor.

On the other hand, wind pressures on small areas such as claddings,

roofing sheets or certain localized areas of a surface will have high
probability of experiencing the maximum possible wind pressure. The
average wind pressure should not be applied to these surfaces. In fact,
the wind pressure in these localized areas (call local pressure) can
sometimes be much higher than the average pressure, and is
accounted for using local pressure factor Kl.

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4. Combination Factor Kc (Cl 5.4.3 and Table 5.5)

Consider the building shown below. It is unlikely that the maximum

wind load on the windward wall (Pfront) will occur at the same time
with the maximum wind load on the leeward pressure (Prear).

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When wind pressures act simultaneously on two or more surfaces,
there is a reduced probability that the structural effects such as shear
or bending moment results from the worst combination of maximum
and minimum wind pressures (or wind forces).

For this reason, the combination factor Kc is used to account for this
reduced probability. For the high rise building shown below, the
combination factor of Kc = 0.8 is used to determine the base shear
and overturning moment.

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5. Porous Cladding Reduction Factor Kp (Cl 5.4.5 and Table 5.8)

When a cladding or roofing sheets are porous, the net pressure

between the internal and external surfaces reduces. This reduction is
accounted for using the porous cladding reduction factor Kp. It is
recommended that Kp be taken as 1.0.

6. Internal Pressure Coefficient for enclosed building Cp,i (Cl 5.3 and
Table 5.1)

In enclosed structure such as buildings there also exist internal

pressure pi. The internal pressure coefficient Cp,i can be positive
(internal pressure pushing outwards) or negative (internal pressure
sucking inwards) depending on whether the walls are porous or if
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there are dominant openings in the walls.
Engineers generally assume that Cp,i ranges from +0.2 to -0.3
whichever gives the most onerous (heavy) wind pressure. From Table
5.1, it can be seen that this is conservative in buildings that are
effectively sealed or have equal permeability in all walls. However, it
can be unconservative under certain conditions.

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7. Frictional Drag Coefficients for Enclosed Building Cf (Cl 5.5 and
Table 5.9)

Frictional drag forces are only significant in “long” buildings with

aspect ratio d/h or d/b greater than 4. (The symbols d, b and h are
define in Figure 5.2). There are no frictional drag forces near the
windward edge due to separation (hence no shear forces) of the
streamlines at this area. “Near” being defined as a distant x from
the windward edge of:
x  4h for h  b or x  4b for h > b ----- (8)

Beyond the distant x, the streamline reattaches to the surface creating

drag forces. Smooth surfaces have a smaller drag forces compared
to rough surfaces. Moreover, corrugated surfaces have a smaller
drag forces than ribbed surfaces.
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8. Net Pressure Coefficient Cp,n for Free Standing Hoardings and
Walls (D2.1)

This provision is applicable for hoardings, walls and signage boards.

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When the c/h ratio is small, wind is able to flow under as well as over
the top of the wall or hoarding, reducing the net wind pressure
between the windward and leeward surfaces. For this reason
hoardings typically should have at least 200 mm gap at the bottom.

Similarly, when the b/c ratio is small, wind is able to flow around the
sides of the walls or hoarding, which reduce the new wind pressure.
Thus, c/h and b/c aspect ratios are important when determining the
net pressure coefficients. Note that these are open structures and thus,
there are no internal pressures to consider.

In addition, the wind drag forces along the surface of the wall or
hoardings and the wind forces on the columns that support the
signage boards must also be considered.
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 Wind Actions
1. Wind Forces on Building and Building Elements (Cl 2.5)

The wind forces on a building are given by:

F = pzAz for building

F = pnAz for building elements -----(6)

where pz is the design wind pressure on the building.

pn is the net design wind pressure across the building element.
Az is the area of the tributary area of the building or building
element which the wind pressure acts on.
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Differences between pz and pn: Examples of building elements are
claddings, windows and roofing sheets. The net design pressure
across these building elements pn is given by:

pn = pe – pi

where pe is the external pressure including the local pressure factor

Kl from Cl 5.4.4.
pi is the internal pressure inside the building.

On the other hand, when determining for example overturning

moment of the building due to wind load, only the external design
wind pressures (pz) in the windward and leeward sides of the building
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are important. The internal pressure in the building self-equilibrates
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