Roof wind pressures for rectangular low rise buildings using MS1553, EC1-1-4, BS6399-2 and IS875-3

This paper compares the maximum roof pressures of the low rise rectangular plan building using four major codes (MS 1553-2002, EC 1991-1-4:2005, IS 875-3-1987 and BS 6399-2:1997) on the general and local area of different roof types considering buildings with non-dominant opening, dominant opening and canopies. Two codes used to determine the wind pressures in Malaysia are MS 1553-2002 and BS 6399-2:1997. Eurocodes (EC1-1-4) has been included in the context of its necessary introduction in Malaysia. IS 875-3-1987 is another code from tropical zone namely India. The maximum recommended wind speed in MS 1553-2002 namely 33.5 m/s has been used as the reference for the numerical comparison. The major differences in the codes include averaging time for wind speed, reference height of buildings, and values of pressure coefficients. The study examines the conservativeness or not of the codes if used in the Malaysian context, even though they have been developed for a different wind climate and region. The results of the study are reported.