Type of Document	Thesis
Author	Schellhammer, Michael Ryan
URN	etd-04182011-200136
Title	Mitigation Techniques for Aluminum Pool Enclosure Connections in High Wind Speeds
Degree	Master of Science
Department	Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Sungmoon Jung Committee Chair Jerry Wekezer Committee Member Michelle Rambo-Roddenberry Committee Member
Keywords	Connections Pool Enclosure Aluminum
Date of Defense	2011-03-31
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract Aluminum pool enclosures consistently yield significant insurance losses due to damage suffered during hurricanes and strong windstorms. The damaged pool enclosures frequently produce airborne debris, which can often lead to additional damage on the host structure. For this reason, pool enclosures represent an important area of concern when it comes to mitigating overall structural damage caused by hurricanes and strong windstorms. Most commonly, a pool enclosure fails due to insufficient connection performance. Insufficient connection performance generally consists of screw pullout and/or other hardware failures. Improving the function of these aluminum connections can help alleviate pool enclosure failure and thus lessen the amount of insurance losses accumulated. This research investigates different mitigation techniques involving the pool enclosure connection with the host structure. Due to the extensive variety of connection designs used by contractors across Florida, several connection specimens were tested and analyzed to provide the best performing and most cost efficient results. The connection components under investigation mainly included angle size, screw layout, and screw size. These components were monitored with the overall goal of optimizing the hardware combination. Each specimen was tested against windward and uplift forces using an MTS machine capable of delivering axial forces to the specimens. In addition to continuous loading, fatigue loading was utilized to examine connection behavior once the connection was compromised and a load is re-applied. Load and corresponding displacement values were recorded during testing to provide comparable strength capacities for each specimen. In order to determine the probability of connection failure, fragility curves were constructed and interpreted then applied to a financial analysis to achieve benefit-cost ratios. The resulting financial and performance benefits serve as benchmarks for optimal connection configuration. The conclusions obtained from testing will provide valuable information to pool enclosure designers and contractors who hope to get clarification on the ambiguous range of connections used throughout Florida. Since little tangible research has been conducted on pool enclosure connection strength the insight provided by this research could prove useful to the pool enclosure industry.
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