Using the SkyCiv Load Generator in EN 1991-1-4 Wind Load Calculations for Signboards
To calculate the wind load pressures for a structure using SkyCiv Load Generator, the process is to define first the code reference. From there, the workflow is to define the parameters in Project Tab, Site Tab, and Building Tab, respectively. However, free users can only use the calculation for a gable roof for a maximum of 3 solves per day. With a Professional Account or by purchasing the standalone Load Generator module, you can use all the features of this calculation as long as you want You can purchase the standalone module thru this link.
The supported countries for EN 1991-1-4 calculation in this module are as follows:
- Belgium
- Czech Republic
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Ireland
- Italy
- Luxembourg
- The Netherlands
- Poland
- San Marino
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- United Kingdom
Site Data
Users can get the wind speed by location any time from the SkyCiv free wind speed map database. Using EN 1991-1-4, you just need to put the address of the structure located in any of the supported countries. The necessary parameters will show according to National Annex governing the structure location. In order to explain it further, we will use Oxford Street, Manchester, UK as the arbitrary address.
Figure 1. Site Tab.
For some locations, Season/Month dropdown will be shown to calculate the season factor, cseason. Otherwise, cseason is assumed to be equal to 1.0. Moreover, Wind Direction and Terrain Category options depend on the governing National Annex. Wind Direction parameter is used to calculate the directional factor, cdir, and should be based on the wind direction relative to True North. Hence, the value is the opposite of the wind source direction which is used in obtaining cdir. On the other hand, Terrain Category is used in calculating roughness factor, cr(z). Furthermore, specific to BS EN 1991-1-4 and IS EN 1991-1-4, Distance upwind to shoreline or inside town terrain and Displacement Height, hdist, should be defined. The Load Generator module will automatically calculate the Distance upwind to shoreline based on the wind direction selected. However, it should be modified to Distance inside town terrain if the Terrain Category selected is Town.
Figure 2. Elevation chart and other parameters.
Structure Data
The structure data and the wind and snow parameters are separated into different accordions. In order to calculate the design wind force for the signboard, the wind load checkbox should be checked. You need to select Signboard on the Structure dropdown.
Results
Once all the parameters are defined, clicking the Generate Loads button will give a result as shown below:
Detailed Calculation
The detailed wind load calculations can be accessed only by Professional account users and those who purchased the standalone load generator module. All the parameters and assumptions used in the calculation are displayed on the report to make it transparent to the user. You can download a sample detailed calculation thru this link.
For additional resources, you can use these links for reference:
