Flat Roof Wind Uplift

The effects of wind uplift on roofs.

Flat roof wind uplift.

As wind flows over the building the pressure directly above the surface of the roof decreases. Roof damage caused by wind occurs when the air pressure below the roofing assembly is greater than the air pressure above the building s roof. Wind uplift occurs when high levels of wind come into contact with a building. When opting for a polymeric single ply membrane roofing solution one of the key documents is the wind uplift calculation and not just for mechanically fastened roofs they can be just as important for adhered roofs when in certain locations or possibly with a higher risk of exposure.

Therefore when installed these corner and perimeter zones need a greater resistance to these effects or air might be able to get underneath the roof covering causing significant damage to your flat roof. What we are seeing here is a fairly extreme case of wind up lift on a flat roof which will cause significant damage to the membrane. When pressure builds underneath a roof and is greater than the pressure above it this uplift is created but there are many other factors that contribute to wind uplift and its. This exerts a significant amount up pressure against the structure and pushes air upwards.

The present study demonstrates the pressure variations due to wind load on the pyramidal roof of a square plan low rise building with 15 wall openings through cfd computational fluid dynamics simulation. When wind hits a roof the edge zone is the most likely part of your roof to be affected by wind uplift. The video below was posted on linkedin recently by a technician for roofing contractor in the us. Before we can answer the question however we must first define wind uplift.