Abstract
Comparatively, high wind speeds have been observed in South Africa. Wind-related damage to LIH, in particular, have been recorded in recent years. In 2018, about 13.1% of South Africa’s population resides in LIH that is government subsidised. The damage caused to these houses has a significant impact on the socio-economy of the country. In most cases, severe damage is caused to the walls and the roofs of these houses. Many of these houses have lost their roofs during strong wind events due to inadequate anchorage to the supporting walls. This results in reduced structural capacity of the walls, as the roof structure and the walls rely on each other for lateral support. The roof anchoring methods of LIH fall within the general scope of the SANS 10400. The number of reported failures of light roofs during thunderstorms raises questions regarding the adequacy of the current prescribed roof anchor systems. This paper investigates the performance of the current prescribed roof anchor systems for LIH with light roofs. This study was conducted through the combined effort of quantitative research and numerical calculations. Static analyses were performed to calculate the expected peak reaction forces at the roof anchor systems and FEAs were conducted to predict the response of the roof anchor systems. The scope of this study is limited to LIH with light roofs, supported on single leaf masonry walls that comprise of solid bricks or hollow blocks...
M.Ing. (Engineering and the Built Environment)