Effects of Roof Shape and Roof Pitch on Extreme Wind Fragility for Roof Sheathing

Wind fragility curves for roof sheathing were developed for single-family building models to investigate the effects of roof shape and roof pitch on the wind performance of roof sheathing. For gable roofs, it was found that more complex roof shapes are more likely to suffer roof sheathing damage when subjected to high winds. The probability of no roof sheathing failure can be up to 36% higher for a simple gable roof than for a complex gable roof. For hip roofs with different configurations, variation in roof shape has minimal effect on roof sheathing fragility. Roof pitch effects were also evaluated for 10 pitch angles, ranging from 14 degrees to 45 degrees. Results suggest that for roof pitches smaller than 27 degrees, the effects of this angle are more substantial on the performance of gable roofs than on hip roofs. For gable roofs, the probability of no roof sheathing failure can be up to 23% higher for a 23 degrees roof pitch than that for an 18 degrees roof pitch. Furthermore, the inclusion of complex roof shapes in a regional hurricane loss model for New Hanover County, North Carolina, accounted for a 44% increase in estimated annual expected losses from roof sheathing damages compared to a scenario in which all roofs are assumed to have rectangular roof shapes. Therefore, to avoid an underestimation of roof damages due to high-wind impact, the inclusion of complex roof geometries in hurricane loss modeling is strongly recommended.

Automated summary

Wind fragility curves were developed to investigate the effects of roof shape and pitch on roof sheathing performance. It was found that complex roof shapes are more susceptible to damage for gable roofs, while roof shape has minimal effect on hip roofs. Additionally, roof pitch has a greater impact on gable roofs than on hip roofs, with higher pitch angles leading to lower probability of roof sheathing failure.