Tornado Design

Tornado-Resistant Construction Workshop
Building Design for

Tornadoes
William L. Coulbourne, P.E.
Applied Technology Council
bcoulbourne@atcouncil.org
NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes
Agenda
EF damage scale
2011 history of tornado damage
Design formulas for wind pressure
Illustrations of design pressures
ASCE 7 Commentary
Why Design for Tornadoes?

Low probability but high consequence
event
Property damage can be extreme
Loss of life is real threat
As professionals we should not assume
there is nothing we can do
We can use existing technology
Design Strategies for Tornadoes
Use ASCE 7 wind load provisions

Modify some of the factors
Use higher wind speeds than ASCE 7
Understand the limitations of what we
dont know
Tornado Damage Scale

EF scale is based on observed damage
Scale goes from Category EF0 EF5
with corresponding wind speeds from 65
mph to 200 mph
Primary reference is from Texas Tech
Univ. titled: A Recommendation for an
ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE (EF-Scale) 2006

28 Damage Indicators used structure or
use types (e.g.):
One or two family residences
Apartments, condos or townhouses
Large shopping mall
Junior or Senior high school
Warehouse building
Free standing towers

Each Damage Indicator has a range of
wind speeds associated with degrees of
damage for that structure type for one
and two family residences:
Condos, apartments, townhouses
Junior and Senior High Schools
Elementary Schools
10
Recent Events Weve Learned From
OK/KS 1999
Greensburg, KS 2007
Enterprise, AL 2007
Tuscaloosa, AL 2011
Joplin, MO 2011
11
Joplin Tornado Path - 5/22/11
12
Joplin, MO Tornado 5/22/11

Joplin, MO info
Located in SW corner of Missouri
Population of ~50,000
Established in 1873
Area of 31.5 sq. miles
Previously had tornado impact town in 1971, killing one
Evaluations for 5/22 tornado by NWS classify it as an EF-5
Fatality count ~ 160
Over 8000 buildings damaged (path crossed through major
commercial and residential areas)
13
Joplin Damage Assessment Map
14
EF Damage Plotted
15
Area % of EF Damage
0
WindSpeed
(mph)
6585
86109
1179
29.8%
110137
1211
30.6%
138167
494
12.5%
168199
166
4.2%
200234
0.0%
EFlevel
AreaonMap Percentage(%)
(acres)
908
22.9%
16
EF0 (65-85 mph)
17
EF1 (86-109)
18
EF2 (110-137)
19
EF3 (138-167)
10
20
EF3 (138-167)
21
EF4 (168-199)
11
22
EF5 (200-234)
23
Multi-family Buildings (~2000)
12
24
East Middle School (2009)

Gymnasium
25
Auditorium
13
26
Joplin High School

EF2
27
Tuscaloosa Damage Path
14
28
29
29
EF Damage Plotted
15
30
Area % of EF Damage
85+%
31
Housing Demographics
16
32
EF0 (65-85 mph)
33
EF1 (86-109)
17
34
EF2 (110-137)
35
EF3 (138-167)
18
36
EF4 (168-199)
37
Multi-family Building (Old)

EF1
19
38
Multi-family Buildings (New)

EF4
39
Greensburg, KS
20
40
Well-built house, Birmingham, AL

Jan 2012 tornado
41
Steel moment frame, well-built house
21
42
Roof stays together
43
Devil is in the details
22
44
Comparison Hurricane to Tornado

Wind Speeds
45
What We Know How To Do

Maintain load path continuity
Maintain roof-to-wall connections
Maintain wall-to-floor and foundation
connections
Keep walls standing
23
46
Suggested Tornado Design Premise

Strengthen building like we do for
hurricanes
Do not try and protect for wind-borne
debris except for critical facilities
Do design so interior walls stay in place
Keep exterior corners together
Maybe consider a way to vent the upper
portion of the building
47
Continuous Load Path Concept
Ground
24
48
Research - Increase in Uplift Pressures

Reference: Tornado-Induced Wind Loads on a
Low-Rise Building, Dr. Partha Sarkar, Dr. Fred
Haan, Journal of Structural Engineering 2010
Tornado simulator used to determine pressure
coefficient differences with ASCE 7-05
standard
Results were:
Cx = 1.0 (no increase in lateral direction)
Cy = 1.5 (50% increase in wind parallel direction)
Cz = 1.5-3.2 (more than 3 times increase in vertical
or uplift direction)
49
ASCE 7-16 Commentary Proposed Changes

Modify standard wind pressure equation
for differences in tornado wind structure
Discuss differences so practitioners have
a basis for design
Use wind speed maps from ICC and
FEMA or upper end of EF scale wind
speed range
Provide rationale and references
25
50
Calculating MWFRS Loads Using ASCE7

Chapter 27 ASCE 7-10
p = qGCp qi(GCpi)
where:
q = velocity pressure
G = gust effect factor
Cp = external pressure coefficient
qi = velocity pressure at mean roof height h
GCpi = internal pressure coefficient
51
Changes in Calculating MWFRS Loads

p = qh(TiGCp GCpi)
where:
qh = velocity pressure at mean roof height h
Ti = pressure coefficient increase for tornadoes
G = gust effect factor
Cp = external pressure coefficient
GCpi = internal pressure coefficient
26
52
Differences for Tornado Winds
Kd = 1.0
Kzt = 1.0
Exposure C
G = 0.90
GCpi = +/- 0.55
Consider using q at mean roof height h for all
pressures
Wind speeds FEMA 361 or ICC 500 or EF
Category wind speed
Ti factor = 1.5
53
Wind Speed Maps
27
54
ASCE 7-10 Risk Category III/IV Structures
55
MRI = 1700 years
Hurricane Safe Room Design Wind Speed Map
28
56
Cp for MWFRS: Walls
57
Cp for MWFRS: Roofs
29
58
Testing the Theory

Calculated wind pressures for 7 building
sizes
Evaluated results for 65 to 165 mph
Sizes from 10x20 to 45x50, 1 and 2
stories, roof pitch 4:12, overall areas
range from 200 sf to 4500 sf
Attempt here was to try and determine at
what building size and shape are loads
critical to failure
59
Preliminary Results
Used weight to resist uplift, sliding and
overturning forces
Evaluated anchor bolt spacing required
to resist sliding, uplift forces for just the
roof and then entire building
Searching for those design conditions for
which we believe we have solutions
30
60
Some Limiting Design Speeds

Roof lifts off with toe-nailed connection @
approx. 105 mph
Uplift pressure exceeds weight of house
@ approx. 125-135 mph
Wall studs can be broken @ 105 mph
Houses can slide @ approx. 105 mph
when A.B. exceed 6 ft o.c.
61
Wind Pressure Comparisons

Wind
Speed
(mph)
ASCE 7 Pressures
Directionality Method
Tornado Design
Pressures
Roof Uplift
(psf)
Wall Suction
(psf)
Roof Uplift
(psf)
Wall Suction
(psf)
115
-30
-22
-52
-38
120
-33
-24
-58
-42
130
-38
-28
-66
-49
140
-45
-33
-79
-58
150
-51
-38
-89
-66
160
-58
-43
-102
-75
170
-66
-49
-116
-86
180
-74
-55
-130
-96
-82
-61
-144
190
200
NCSEA Webinar
-91 - Building Design
-67for Tornadoes
31
-159
-107
62
-117
Alternative Method
p = [qGCp qi(GCpi)]TF
where TF = tornado increase factor
63
Alternative: Tornado Factor

Original Exposure
Category
MWFRS
2.5
1.75
C&C
2.0
1.5
Global lateral loads
2.0
1.5
32
64
Example
For 2 story building, 1500 sf in total size
Assume design wind speed is top end of
Category EF2 = 135 mph
Roof uplift = 500 lbs/ft around perimeter
For 10 ft tall walls, lateral force outward
at wall-floor intersection = 321 lbs/ft
For 10 ft tall wall corner, lateral force
outward = 96 lbs/ft vertically
65
Example
Roof to wall connection in uplift for truss
spacing of 2 ft., connector must resist 1000
lbs., use SST 2-H10-2
Wall to roof connection for lateral load for 2 ft
spacing, connector must resist 640 lbs, use
SST - 2-H10-2
Wall to floor connection use 3-16d box nails
per foot
Wall corner connections use SST 3-A23
along 10 ft tall wall
33
66
Other Important Considerations

Glazing allow to break?
Improve connections between top and
bottom of interior walls to structure
Lack of interior wall collapse improves
survivability if inside building during storm
Floor to foundation connection
Reinforced foundation
67
Components
Do components matter?
Loss of components wont allow the
building to collapse
Loss of components wont allow the roof
to blow off
Loss of components wont allow the walls
to bulge or wont move the house off the
foundation
34
68
Wind-borne Debris Tornado Missiles

Building components are physically tested to
determine their debris resistance
For 250 mph the test missile is:
A 15-pound 2x4
Shot from a cannon at 100 mph horizontally, 67
mph vertically
69
Test of URM Wall

Wall penetrated by
a 15-pound 2x4 at
100 mph
Could have killed or
injured occupant
Safe room failure
Wall fails to resist
9-lb missile
traveling at 34 mph
35
70
71
Missile Resistance
Requires a material section with sufficient
EI to resist the energy
If we choose to limit deflection of the
material struck by the missile, we can
design a material section with sufficient
EI to resist the impact
See TTU Wind Science & Engineering or
NSSA site for missile testing results
36
72
Summary of Construction Changes
Select a design wind speed (up to 135 mph)

Nail roof sheathing for high winds
Add roof-to-wall connectors
Either add connectors or insure sheathing is
nailed to resist uplift through load path
Add wall-to-sill connectors (nails)
Add corner strengthening
Bolt sill plate with 3x3 steel washers min. 6 ft.
on enter consider 4 ft. on center and within 1
ft. of every corner
73
Conclusions
Significant commentary will be added to ASCE
7 on tornado loads
Should continue to pursue ways to mitigate
effects from Category EF2 and lower wind
speeds
Should study if there are ways to mitigate
effects from Category EF3
Should encourage installation of safe
rooms/shelters to improve life safety in
Category EF4-5 events (use FEMA P-320 or P361 or ICC 500)
37
74
Questions?
bcoulbourne@atcouncil.org
38
75

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Tornado-Resistant Construction Workshop

Building Design for

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

Tornado-Resistant Construction Workshop

Why Design for Tornadoes?

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

Design Strategies for Tornadoes

Use ASCE 7 wind load provisions

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

Tornado-Resistant Construction Workshop

Tornado Damage Scale

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

Tornado Damage Scale

Tornado-Resistant Construction Workshop

Tornado Damage Scale

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

Condos, apartments, townhouses

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

Tornado-Resistant Construction Workshop

Junior and Senior High Schools

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

Tornado-Resistant Construction Workshop

Recent Events Weve Learned From

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

Joplin Tornado Path - 5/22/11

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

Tornado-Resistant Construction Workshop

Joplin, MO Tornado 5/22/11

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

Joplin Damage Assessment Map

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

Tornado-Resistant Construction Workshop

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

Tornado-Resistant Construction Workshop

EF0 (65-85 mph)

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

Tornado-Resistant Construction Workshop

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

Tornado-Resistant Construction Workshop

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

Tornado-Resistant Construction Workshop

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

Multi-family Buildings (~2000)

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

Tornado-Resistant Construction Workshop

East Middle School (2009)

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

Tornado-Resistant Construction Workshop

Joplin High School

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

Tuscaloosa Damage Path

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

Tornado-Resistant Construction Workshop

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

Tornado-Resistant Construction Workshop

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes

NCSEA Webinar - Building Design for Tornadoes