Date of Award:

8-2019

Document Type:

Dissertation

Degree Name:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department:

Mathematics and Statistics

Committee Chair(s)

Yan Sun

Committee

Yan Sun

Committee

Adele Cutler

Committee

Richard Cutler

Committee

Marc Maguire

Committee

Shih-Yu (Simon) Wang

Abstract

One critical consideration in the design of buildings constructed in the western United States is the weight of settled snow on the roof of the structure. Engineers are tasked with selecting a design snow load that ensures that the building is safe and reliable, without making the construction overly expensive. Western states use historical snow records at weather stations scattered throughout the region to estimate appropriate design snow loads. Various mapping techniques are then used to predict design snow loads between the weather stations. Each state uses different mapping techniques to create their snow load requirements, yet these different techniques have never been compared. In addition, none of the current mapping techniques can account for the uncertainty in the design snow load estimates. We address both issues by formally comparing the existing mapping techniques, as well as creating a new mapping technique that allows the estimated design snow loads to be represented as an interval of values, rather than a single value. In the process, we have improved upon existing methods for creating design snow load requirements and have produced a new tool capable of handling uncertain climate data.

Checksum

0e942a67349906e370f5f3ea691be8c6

Included in

Mathematics Commons

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