What Are Wind Loading Calculations?

What is a 'wind loading' calculation?

A wind loading calculation or wind pressure calculation, determines how much force can be exerted on the surface of a product before the product fails. When calculating wind load, the main factors to consider are uplift load, shear load and lateral load, however other factors such as surrounding structures, elevation and how the product is secured will also need to be considered.

Why is wind load information important?

It is important to understand the maximum force your acoustic curtains can withstand so that you can keep site workers safe. If the maximum wind load is exceeded, the product could be uplifted or pull the supporting structure over, causing risk to all those on site.

What wind load information does RVT Group provide?

RVT’s Soundex acoustic curtains and quilts can be used inside buildings to line walls and hoardings, however they are more frequently used outside where they are suspended from fences and scaffolding, and as such, we are quite often asked for wind loading information.

To understand how much force they could withstand, Soundex curtains and quilts were subject to three wind load tests conducted by an independent external body. The tests replicated a worst-case scenario; being positioned 130m up a hill and 50m up in the air. The curtains were fixed top and bottom (not sides) with 9mm wide cable ties, to a rigid frame. The results of these tests are available on request.

Here at RVT Group we are renowned for our acoustic enclosures, as such, we have had similar wind-loading tests conducted on all of the following units;

• Soundex Cutting Enclosure
• Soundex Breaker Shroud
• Soundex Construction Enclosure
• Soundex Maxi Enclosure
• Soundex Generator Enclosure
• Soundex Maintenance Enclosure
• Soundex Multi-Purpose Enclosure

Again, all wind loading test information is available upon request.

Whilst the test information can be used as a guide to help you plan and position Soundex acoustic barriers on your site, it is important to remember that wind loading calculations should be conducted for each individual project so that you can take factors such as surrounding structures and elevation into consideration. As such, customers remain responsible for ensuring that they have correctly calculated wind loading information for the given application.

More Information

For more information, please visit our Soundex product pages.

You can submit requests for wind loading information directly from the product pages.