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Metal Roofing Wind Uplift Requirements

Comparison of ASTM E 1592 and Underwriters UL 90

ASTM E 1592
a short history

ASTM E 1592
Test Chamber and Panel Layout

Test Significance
• ASTM E 1592 is a Standard Test Method for determining the structural capacity of a metal roofing system.

• It is a comprehensive test of all components of the system, addressing panels, clips, screws and a common premature mode of failure: sidelap disen- gagement of adjacent panels.

• Test is run to ultimate failure.

• Quantifies multiple span conditions and can be used to develop uplift load tables.

• Simulates actual field conditions. Panels are
unrestricted and allowed to deflect at both ends.

• Complies with AISI Cold-formed Steel Design Manual for determining structural performance.

• Project specific design pressure coefficients for wind uplift should be established in accordance with the (UBC).

• Allowable loads established in accordance with ASTM E 1592 testing criteria ensure the specifier that the metal roofing system can resist the design uplift pressures established by the UBC.
In 1962 Underwriters Laboratories (UL) began development of an air pressure test designed specifically for roof coverings. The test involves cyclic loading of a ten foot by ten foot specimen, and reported the results in three levels of performance. This test became the UL 580 procedure in 1973. Products that have “passed” the UL 580 test are rated as UL 30, UL 60, or UL 90. Factory Mutual (FM) also uses an air pressure test for evaluating roof systems for insurance/risk analysis purposes. In addition to wind uplift, FM also tests roof systems for fire, hail, and water infiltration.

In the 1980’s the Missouri River Division of the Corps of Engineers issued an internal “standing seam alert” citing the failure of several UL 90 rated installations. These roofs failed at wind speeds of less than 60 mph, even though they had passed the UL 580 test and engineering calculations anticipated much higher wind uplift capacity. Eventually UL revised literature that implied a correlation between UL 90 rated products and wind speed and issued a letter stating, “the 580 procedure does not demonstrate that a system can resist any specific load or wind velocity”.

The Corps of Engineers began the testing of metal roofing systems on their own based on a modification of the ASTM E 330 structural test for curtainwalls, windows and doors. This became known as ASTM E 330 Modified. An ASTM task force was formed in 1985, and after nine years of work ASTM E 1592 was published in 1994 and revised in 1995. The Corps of Engineers has stopped their independent testing and adopted ASTM E 1592-95 as the standard.

UL 90 (test 580)
Test Chamber and Panel Layout

Test Significance
• Provides a comparative index of all types of roof assemblies with respect to uplift resistance.

• Does not demonstrate that a system can resist any specific load or wind velocity.

• Test is not run to ultimate failure.

• Evaluates systems on a pass/fail basis only.

• Not intended to quantify load span tables.

• Entire perimeter is fastened, including panel ends. This end restraint limits full panel deflection and does not simulate actual field conditions.

• Limiting panel deflection prevents crosswise distor- tion and does not simulate or quantify roof perfor- mance in actual field conditions.
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Last updated: 6/15/00

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