The Action of Tornadoes on the Structural Elements of a Wooden Low-Rise Building Roof and Surrounding Objects—Review and Case Study

Abstract

This article presents the phenomena of tornado models with statistical data on the number of tornadoes in various regions of the world. Classifications are presented of the intensity of weather phenomena caused by gusts of wind in terms of the amount of damage to buildings and nearby objects. The main aim of the article is to analyze a damaged single-family house and its surroundings after the tornado in Fairburn (2018, Georgia, USA), to estimate the peak wind speed that caused the damage, based on the ultimate and serviceable limit states, and to compare the obtained results with the tornado scales. The article draws attention to the various possibilities of damage and analyzes several places where potential damage could begin. The low-trength capacity of the joints was the direct cause of the roof structure failure, and this case is analyzed and discussed. FinallyFinally, the calculations performed are summarized and conclusions resulting from the visible trends are proposed. The novelty of this article lies in the following: the validation of the numerical model describing the response of the roof structure to the tornado; the estimation of the wind speed based on the degree of damage to the building based on the EF scale; and the analysis of the ultimate and serviceable limit states of the rafter to the horizontal beam joint.

Keywords

• failure analysis
• action of strong wind
• low-rise buildings
• wooden roof
• tornado scale
• wind models