ABSTRACT
Abstract Aresearchprogrammehasbeenestablishedtoinvestigatetheperformanceoflowrise buildings,mainlyhouses,undersimulatedwindloading.Sevenbuildingshavebeen testedintheprogramme.Forcesareappliedthroughhydraulicramsandlarge loadingframes.Rackingtestsduringtheconstructionphaseinvestigatetheeffectof liningandcladdingmaterials.Thestrengthofthehousesisdeterminedfrom combinedrackingandupliftloading.Acyclicloadingregimeisusedtosimulate buffetingwithinatropicalcyclone.Furtherrackingtestsareconductedasvarious elementsaredisabled.Thepaperdiscussestestresultsandgivesexamplesof practicalapplication. Keywords:Windloading,houses.
