When the videotape of hurricane and tornado destruction is telecast, there is a clamor to make sure that steel buildings are impervious to high wind. Our country has seen the destructive force that wind can have with the recent hurricane activity along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The correct structural design for any pre-engineered steel building to be wind resistant will include fortifying affected framework pieces. As new dynamics with the effects of wind forces in regards to steel buildings are revealed, extra structural code refinements are made.

In any sector of the 50 states, there exists a design wind speed calculation that any pre-engineered steel structure needs to match. A precise area is chosen and the measurements are deduced from the criterion of a maximum “three second wind gust.” The wind velocity is then changed to a measurement that involves velocity pressure expressed through pounds per square feet by a recognized computation. The appropriate design and wind pressure elements that will involve a selected building can then be determined by a formula unifying the exposure and height of the building to the job site ground surface readings.

Studies show that the building corners and roof eaves can contribute to a breakdown of the rooftop and walls in any structure in high winds. More attention needs to be focused on layout adjustments to achieve larger wind resistance for any collateral elements in the building segments of pre-engineered steel buildings. Increased strength and engineering scrutiny is being spent on the four corners of a building through a “salient corner” technique that pays more attention to areas needing dangerous wind structure loading.

There are a number of ways that wind can weaken a metal structure. Shifting is one circumstance. This scenario happens if a steel building system actually slides off its base because of detachment to the building foundation from severe wind forces. In the most disastrous case, a breakdown of the structure can occur. Harsh wind events can result in a pre-engineered steel structure to buckle upon itself, like a “house of cards” toppling. Another example of wind destruction can include a building flipping over. This, again, is the fault of frail structural attachment to footings, from inadequate weight and wind force calculations. When only a segment of the building fails or gives way in extreme winds, building component damage can take place. This may produce limited roof collapse, doors destroyed, or chunks of the wall gouged out.

It was reasoned, for a number of years, that the wind should only be considered as a lateral quantity when deciding its effect in regards to a building. The steel building manufacturing industry has modified this careful investigation to build in upright wind reinforcements to all buildings, combined with calculations of pressure and suction, on the interior and exterior. Steel structure system wind quantification technology continues to grow.