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In response to the increasing demands of high-technology industrial buildings, renovated standing seam metal roofs (SSMRs) are widely used in the construction of such buildings due to their superior performance regarding heat insulation and waterproofing. However, studies to identify realistic mechanical performance and structural defects in newly applied SSMRs are still limited due to their recent development. In our previous full-scale experiment, the ultimate failure of the roof under wind pressure corresponded to mid-clip failure rather than end clip failure and seam separation; therefore, in this study, the lab-scale experimental programs mainly focused on the mid-clip and the metal roof sheet. Here, the plastic saddle type of the SSMR was chosen as the lab-scale experiment specimen under various loading speeds and angled plastic saddle conditions. The JC material properties were calibrated against experimental results and simulated to predict the dynamic failure response of SSMRs. An additional experimental study was conducted to identify the effect of strengthening SSMRs with wind clips, which showed that 20.77% of the peak load was enhanced after reinforcing the SSMR with wind clips. On the basis of this result, the failure wind speed was computed according to ASCE 7–10 standards with the assumption of a wind clip installed on the corner and edge of the roof panel, indicating that the failure wind speed increased with the wind clip by about 6 to 7 m/s. The current research results suggest a methodology for enhancing the structural performance of renovated industrial building SSMRs.

The mechanical properties of cementitious materials injected by epoxy have seldom been modeled quantitatively, and the atomic origin of the shear strength of polymer/concrete interfaces is still unknown. To understand the main parameters that affect crack filling and interface strength in mode II, we simulated polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) injection and PMMA/silica interface shear deformation with Molecular Dynamics (MD). Injection simulation results indicate that the notch filling ratio increases with injection pressure (100 MPa–500 MPa) and temperature (200 K–400 K) and decreases with the chain length (4–16). Interface shear strength increases with the strain rate (1×108 s−1–1×109 s−1). Smooth interfaces have lower shear strengths than polymer alone, and under similar injection conditions, rough interfaces tend to be stronger than smooth ones. The shear strength of rough interfaces increases with the filling ratio and the length of the polymer chains; it is not significantly affected by temperatures under 400 K, but it drops dramatically when the temperature reaches 400 K, which corresponds to the PMMA melting temperature for the range of pressures tested. For the same injection work input, a higher interface shear strength can be achieved with the entanglement of long molecule chains rather than with asperity filling by short molecule chains. Overall, the mechanical work needed to break silica/PMMA interfaces in mode II is mainly contributed by van der Waals forces, but it is noted that interlocking forces play a critical role in interfaces created with long polymer chains, in which less non-bond energy is required to reach failure in comparison to an interface with the same shear strength created with shorter polymer chains. In general, rough interfaces with low filling ratios and long polymer chains perform better than rough interfaces with high filling ratios and short polymer chains, indicating that for the same injection work input, it is more efficient to use polymers with high polymerization.

Standing Seam Metal Roofs (SSMRs) are widely used in the construction of industrial buildings, and their structural characteristics are rapidly being changed in order to improve the parameters of heat insulation and waterproofness. However, newly employed SSMRs did not account for a potential structural instability under strong winds by considering the multi-function of SSMRs. In this study, three different types of new SSMRs were chosen as specimens and were used in full-scale experiments, which were performed using the cyclic wind uplift method based on ASTM E1592 regulations. In contrast to a previous study in which the ultimate failure of the roof under wind pressure corresponded to seam line failure due to panel deflection, in this study, the experimental results show that seam separation was induced by a mid-clip rupture. It is verified that the behavior of the mid-clip plays a significant role in the overall performance of SSMRs under wind uplift loading. The objectives of this study were to (i) understand the structural performance and failure mode of new SSMRs under wind uplift pressure, as this condition is closest to reality, and to (ii) quantify the structural sustainability, which can be applied to risk-management practices through the established performance evaluation. It is expected that the present research results may provide future directions for improving the test standards, design guidelines, and risk-management practices.