CHARACTERISTICS OF WIND FLOW ACTING ON SNOWDRIFT ON A STEPPED FLAT ROOF

Abstract

When estimating snow load on a building roof in a heavy-snowfall district, it is important to know its volume and drift. Snowdrift on a building is closely related to the wind flow pattern around a building. The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between snowdrift and wind flow on buildings, and to thus predict the snowdrift from wind flow patterns. This paper investigates snowdrift and wind flow around a model building with stepped flat roof. Snowdrift patterns on model roofs were observed from field measurements in Hokkaido. And wind velocity patterns around the model were measured by wind tunnel tests. Then some relativity was found in snowdrift and wind acceleration in the vicinity of roof surface.