Wind Performance and Evaluation Methods of Multi-Layered Wall Assemblies

Wind loads on different layers of a multi-layer wall assembly were determined under realistic loading conditions in the IBHS test chamber. The current results indicated the PEF of 0.36 currently used in the ASTM D3679-13 for vinyl siding is likely too low and a more suitable PEF would be in the range of 0.4 to 0.7, with an optimal value likely between 0.55 and 0.6.. In contrast, the results from the present study on foam backed vinyl siding indicated that the PEF in ASTM D7445-09 of 0.7 are too high and may be overly conservative. The current results indicate most PEF values for foam backed vinyl fall between 0.2 and 0.55.