Graduation Year

2006

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.S.C.E.

Degree Granting Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Major Professor

A. G. Mullins, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Rajan Sen, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Abla Zayed, Ph.D.

Keywords

windward, leeward, pressure coefficients, components and cladding, main wind force resisting system

Abstract

One of the communities in the path of Hurricane Charley as it came ashore

August 13, 2004, was Punta Gorda, recording gusts up to 145 mph. This project

utilizes aerial photos taken approximately 10 days after the storm battered the

area, using a digital photography program. Focusing on the one-story residential

structures (houses) of the Punta Gorda area, a damage assessment could be

made of the area’s homes, and how they stood up to the storm. This study

focused further on homes built after major changes to the local/state building

codes went into effect (starting in 1996) after the devastation left in south Florida

by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. After selecting approximately 20 damaged

houses, damaged from wind loading only, an analysis of these houses (or types

of houses) could then be undertaken complying with the most current

building/wind codes used at the time of Charley’s landfall. Furthermore, by

looking at the pictures, and using reports outlining the types of damage seen

from the storm, the building/wind codes could then be checked for their

effectiveness.

After performing a wind loading analysis on houses similar to those seen in

the selected pictures, and using the wind code provisions of ASCE 7-98,

calculations show a substantial increase in local wind pressure to various zones

of the roof. High pressure zones of the roof included the ridges of the gable and

hipped style roofs, as well as the corners and the edges.

More emphasis needs to be placed on the installation of the clay tiles

(mandated by certain deed-restricted subdivisions of Punta Gorda). If the tiles

are ripped off from the wind, then the roof sheathing becomes exposed to the

environment, and if this becomes damaged, rain leaking down into the interior of

the house would cause additional damage.

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