Pressure coefficients for evaluating wind loads on large roofs: Comparison between Database-Assisted Design and Italian standards

In the last decade, the Database-Assisted-Design methodology has emerged as a powerful approach to estimate structural wind loads and as an alternative to prescriptive design standards, in particular for Low-Rise Buildings (e.g., Simiu et al., 2003). This work examines the applicability of this approach to wind load analysis and design as an alternative to the prescriptions currently included in the Italian design standard. In this paper, mean pressures coefficients on large roofs of industrial buildings are examined and compared to the recommendations of the current Italian national design guidelines (CNR-DT 207/2008).