| In the reconstruction after Hurricane Katrina, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) investigated of the possibility of utilizing Structural Insulated Panel (SIP) construction for hurricane "cottages" that would be resistant to a Category 3 hurricane through a joint project with a local architect, Bruce Tolar, and FMS Engineering, LLC, Mobile, Alabama. The connections between the SIP panels, including a cam-locking device common to SIP panel construction, were identified as vulnerable under high velocity wind loads. At that time, there were no published guidelines for performing a computational finite element analysis of the SIP system, and thus it was not possible to obtain the necessary system response data.;By observation of blast experimental tests performed by Aberdeen Proving Grounds in association with the United States Military Academy, West Point, major failure of the system was observed at two critical connections in the SIP wall assembly. Using ABAQUS CAE, a model of a static panel transverse bending test was reproduced to validate the modeling procedure. A finite-element based model of the SIP Hut was created and validated using the displacement and impulse data measured during the blast tests and provided by Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland. The FE model of the SIP Hut was then altered to investigate the structural response of the SIP Hut to a high velocity wind loading on the same wall assembly. The detailed connection response gathered from the ABAQUS model was evaluated and improvements to the currently common connection detailing used in OSB/EPS SIP construction are recommended to improve structural performance under high velocity wind loading. |
