The final report on recent standing seam roof stiffness and strength testing is complete and is now available at the CFSRC DSpace library collection hosted at Johns Hopkins.
The standing seam roof (SSR) system is the most commonly used roof system for metal buildings due to its superior durability, water tightness, and energy efficiency. In this type of system, SSR panels attach to Z-shaped or C-shaped purlins with clips, and the purlins are in turn connected to rafters (i.e. roof beams). For the design of the rafters against lateral torsional buckling, bottom flange braces provide torsional bracing to the rafter and the SSR system provides some lateral bracing. However, the degree to which the SSR system can restrain the rafter against lateral movement has not previously been studied.
The objective of this study is to quantify the in-plane strength and stiffness of the SSR system and identify how this can be used to provide lateral bracing to the rafter.