Experimental investigation of wind pressure characteristics for cladding of dome roofs

Cladding for dome roofs is often made of membrane materials that are light and easy to install. Due to these characteristics, wind damage to dome roof cladding is very common. In particular, open or retractable dome roofs are prone to wind damage because of inadequacies in wind load calculations. In this study, the wind pressure characteristics of a dome with a central opening were investigated. Wind tunnel tests were performed, and the pressure distribution was investigated by analyzing external and internal pressure coefficients. Based on the experimental results, the peak net pressure coefficients for the cladding design of a dome roof with a central opening were proposed. For the external peak pressure coefficients, the values of leeward regions were similar despite height–span ratios and turbulence intensity values. For the internal peak pressure coefficients, negative pressure was dominant, and the coefficients were not significantly affected by changes in height–span ratio. This tendency locally increased the negative peak net pressure, in which the load acts in the upward direction, and relatively significantly increased the positive peak net pressure, in which the load acts in the downward direction.