Peak and Annual Snow Load Pattern for Effective Snow Melting System Design in Republic of Korea

Snowstorm, slippery pedestrian walkways, ice and snow on pavement and roofs of structures continue to serve as a threat to life and infrastructure in many low temperature nations. Owing to these menaces coupled with an increase in the demand and cost of energy globally, engineers and planners are tasked to design effective and efficient green technologies to counterbalance these demands. Snow melting systems are gradually gaining widespread application in the areas of bridge, pavements and roofs of buildings. Snow melting loads are an integral part in the design of snow melting systems. This paper developed snow melting and roof snow building load for the Republic of Korea. Annual averages and frequency distribution methods were used in the analysis of a 10-year period weather data. Monthly total as well as peak snowfall rate values were used to generate annual and peak snow melting load values, respectively. It was observed that the annual-average approach is more conservative for most climatic conditions than the frequency analysis method. Minimum flat roof snow building loads were presented to aid in the structural analysis of structures within the Republic of Korea. The developed database in this paper will provide the database for designing a snow melting system and for analyzing the building structural interpretation considering snow weight.