Comparative study between stressed skin effect of trapezoidal sheet and sandwich panel roof cladding

Previous research studied the stabilizing effect of sandwich panel roof cladding and trapezoidal sheet cladding, considering pitched roof portal frame structures. It was observed that these cladding types contribute to the transfer of horizontal loads to the main structural elements, acting in a similar manner as roof bracings, while also providing significant lateral stability to the steel members. Certain methodologies were developed in order to introduce this effect into a 3D numerical model while taking into account the connections between the cladding and the purlins, as well as the influence of the fixing method between the purlins and the main structural members. The current study presents two procedures in order to achieve this and aims to present a comparison between these cladding types in terms of sway displacement of the frame structure with semi‐rigid joints and load transfer by applying the developed methodology to a reference building. The comparison is based on detailed analytical and numerical calculations, carried out by combining the design recommendations available for each cladding type and the developed analysis procedures using a 3D structural analysis software. The analysis results emphasize significant stabilization effects on the structure in both cladding cases.