Fatigue damage models for steel roof battens subject to variable amplitude cyclic wind suction loading

Abstract

Pull-through failure of steel roof batten to rafter connections is one of the critical failures observed in cold-formed steel roofs during tropical cyclones. Although design equations are available for steel roof battens subject to static pull-through failures, no suitable design equations are available for fatigue pull-through failures. Currently, a Low-High-Low (LHL) cyclic test method based on expensive and time consuming large scale prototype tests is being used to design roof battens for fatigue pull-through failures. Therefore, this research study proposes suitable design equations based on both linear and nonlinear damage models to determine the fatigue life and capacity of steel roof battens by understanding the fatigue behaviour of steel roof battens subject to variable amplitude cyclic wind suction loading. This was achieved through a series of multi-level cyclic tests, including LHL cyclic tests, conducted on roof battens made of different steel grades and thicknesses and fastened with different screw fasteners. This paper presents the details of the experimental study and its results, and proposes suitable fatigue pull-through design equations based on linear and nonlinear fatigue damage models.