Characteristics of wind pressure pulse on large-span flat roofs

The wind pressure pulse events, among the most important characteristics of wind pressure fluctuations on large-span flat roofs, were investigated by wind tunnel tests in this paper. Incorporating the formation mechanism of wind pressure pulse events, the peak over threshold method was employed to study properties of this kind of events. The event duration time, the energy contribution, the number of the pulse events, and the distribution of average peak pressure were calculated. Probability density functions of some typical samples in separation region were also given. Results show that the non-Gaussian roof pressure is strong in the flow separation region owing to the wind pressure pulse events. Evaluations of the extreme peak pressures, which can be determined by the peak over threshold method effectively, are important to the design of building cladding.