This study investigated the failure of the roof, with steel truss construction, of a factory building in Tekirdag in the northwestern part of Turkey. The failure occurred under hefty weather conditions including lightning strikes, heavy rain, and fierce winds. In order to interpret the reason for the failure, the effects of different combinations of factors on the design and dimensioning of the roof were studied. Finite element analysis, using the commercial software Abaqus (Dassault Systèmes, Vélizy-Villacoublay, France), was performed several times under different assumptions and considering different factors with the aim of determining the dominant factors that were responsible for the failure. Each loading condition gives out a characteristic form of failure. The scenario with the most similar form of failure to the real collapse is considered as the most likely scenario of failure. In addition, the factors included in this scenario are expected to be the responsible factors for the partial collapse of the steel truss structure.

This study investigates the failure of a roof with steel truss construction of a factory building in Tekirdag in North-western part of Turkey. The failure occurred under hefty weather conditions including thunderbolt, lightning strikes, heavy rain and fierce winds. In order to interpret the reason for the failure, the effects of different combinations of factors on the design and dimensioning of the roof are checked. Therefore, finite element analysis is performed several times under different assumptions and considering different factors aiming to determine the dominant ones that are responsible for the failure using the commercial software Abaqus (Dassault Systèmes, Vélizy-Villacoublay, France). Each loading condition gives out a characteristic form of failure. The scenario with the most similar form of failure to the real collapse is considered as the most likely scenario of failure. Also, the factors included in this scenario are expected to be the responsible factors for the partial collapse of the steel truss structure.