Project Team
Students
Tobey Field
Civil Engineering
Penn State Lehigh Valley
Faculty Mentors
Tracey Carbonetto
Penn State Lehigh Valley
Mechanical Engineering
Ryan Solnosky
Penn State University Park
Architectural Engineering
Project
https://sites.psu.edu/mcreu/files/formidable/2/MCREUSnowPosterFinal.pptx
Project Video
Project Abstract
Homeowners who experience heavy or unusual snowfall should understand how roof loads are calculated to accommodate snow. As climate change begins to alter snowstorms across the United States, the likelihood of extreme snowfall increases. Excessive snowfall on top of a roof may cause structural damage if the snow load exceeds the design load. Several websites offer useful information and tools such as OMNI, which enables homeowners to quickly input data and determine whether to have the roof cleared of snow. However, these websites fail to go into detail as to how the calculations were derived and neglect critical factors such as adjacent buildings, structure type, precise location, and snowdrift. The evaluation was performed using calculations provided by the American Society of Civil Engineers and ground snow values from the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory. These values were manipulated; the greatest factor would be used to calculate the roof’s maximum live load. The data was also applied to the 2014 Glenn Brook Square Mall roof collapse in Fort Wayne, Indiana to determine the cause of the failure. The results describe a significant increase in pressure when leeward snowdrift was applied to the ground snow load value. Other factors such as location and building purpose also had a notable stance in affecting the design load. The findings aid homeowners in identifying key equations and considerations when planning for snow removal.
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