Wind load combinations and extreme pressure distributions on low-rise buildings

The main purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the necessity of consideri ng wind load combinations even for low-rise buildings. It first discusses t he overall quasi-static wind load effects and their combinations to be cons idered in structural design of low-rise buildings. It was found that the ma ximum torsional moment closely correlates with the maximum along-wind base shear. It was also found that the instantaneous pressure distribution causi ng the maximum along-wind base shear was quite similar to that causing the maximum torsional moment, and that this asymmetric pressure pattern simulta neously accompanies considerable across-wind and torsional components. Seco ndly, the actual wind pressure distributions causing maximum quasi-static i nternal forces in the structural frames are conditionally sampled and their typical pressure patterns are presented.