While most low-rise buildings suffered little structural damage under typhoons, many experienced roof covering failures, and especially lost a large number of roof tiles. A detailed wind tunnel tests were carried out at Tongji University to acquire the wind loads on clay and concrete roof tiles. Test data were fed into a finite element model (FEM) of a roof structure that includes the tiles, the backing materials, and the roof truss. The FEM analysis were compared with the performance of tile roofs under simulated typhoon impact through one-of-akind Wall of Wind (WoW) apparatus. The analysis results show that the material defects or improper construction practices are the key factors to induce the roof tiles' failure and the staggered setting of concrete tiles would help develop an interlocking mechanism between the tiles and increase their resistance to typhoon.
