Thermal Loading of Concrete Roofs

Abstract

A theoretical model is presented to evaluate the thermal loading of a concrete roof slab heated by solar radiation. Roof temperatures are computed from standard meteorological data and the material properties of the roof. Then effective temperature is used to characterize in‐plane deformation and thermal moment to characterize bending effects. Comparison with experimental values, recorded in an isolated roof panel for a year, shows the model to represent slab behavior accurately on clear sky days for the mediterranean climate of Adelaide, Australia. Design charts are presented to evaluate the structural parameters for a range of roof constructions in a particular climate. For the computation of characteristic values histograms are presented to show the probability distribution of the structural parameters for specific roofs located in three Australian climate regimes. The frequency distributions are not normal and their form is a function of climate.