CFD Evaluation of Philippine Detached Structure with Different Roofing Designs

Napoleon Enteria

doi:10.3390/infrastructures1010003

Abstract

The Philippines is located in the typhoon belt region in the western side of the Pacific Ocean. Every year, an average of twenty typhoons pass through the country, resulting in the loss of life and property. As the design of the roofing is an important factor in the structural integrity of the detached structures and the survival of the occupants, an evaluation of different roofing designs for the detached structure is needed. Different roofing designs, typical in Philippine detached structures were investigated using the computation fluid dynamics (CFD). The developed CFD model was validated based on the data from full scale and wind tunnel results. The different roofing designs were evaluated in the developed and validated model based on the flow field, pressure coefficients and streamlines at different wind angles. The results show that different roofing designs affect the flow field velocity, flow field pressure coefficient and the structure’s surface pressure coefficients. The pyramidal and domed roofing designs have a smoother flow field velocity, flow field pressure coefficient and house surface pressure coefficient. The eaves overhang, which is common in Philippine detached structures, has a large effect on the surface pressure coefficient and the velocity streamlines, as compared to structures with no eaves overhang. The results of this study show the importance of the roof design in Philippine detached structures.

Highlights

The Philippines is an island nation located in Southeast Asia, and is bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the east, the West Philippine Sea to the west, the Celebes Sea to the south and the Bashi Channel to the north
The Philippines is located in the typhoon belt region and the Pacific ring of fire
This paper presents the application of the computational fluid dynamic in the analysis and evaluation of the typical roofing designs in Philippine detached structures

Summary

Introduction

The Philippines is an island nation located in Southeast Asia, and is bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the east, the West Philippine Sea to the west, the Celebes Sea to the south and the Bashi Channel to the north. With the different styles of houses based on the family income, many houses are damaged during a strong typhoon, along with public structures such as terminals, malls and other facilities. Based on a physical evaluation and survey, most of the houses with roofing ripped off by strong winds suffered a weakening of their structure. When the roofing of detached houses or buildings was ripped off by the strong wind during the typhoon, their structure weakened due to the rain and damage to the support structures below the roof. This study is important for the Philippines which is located in the typhoon belt region and which has many detached structures, single family houses, constructed from different local materials [1]

Computational Fluid Dynamics

Numerical Modelling

Model Validation

Gabled and Pyramidal Roofs Evaluation