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- What are the Italian snow zones according to Eurocode 1 ?
- How to determine the influence of elevation on the ground snow load in Italy ?
- How to adjust the ground snow load according to return period in Italy ?
- Example of results given by the software
- Get the zones for a localisation using Eurocodes Zoning !
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- Eurocode 1 - Actions on structures
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Snow zones map - Italy
What are the Italian snow zones according to Eurocode 1 ?
On the map of the national annex, the Italian territory is divided by provinces into three snow zones identified from 1 to 3. The snow zone 1 is subdivided into two to account for the Alpine or Mediterranean influence.
| Zone | I-M | I-A | II | III |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic value of snow on the ground without elevation sk,0 | 1.50kN/m2 | 1.50kN/m2 | 1.00kN/m2 | 0.60kN/m2 |
Snow zoning of Italy (2010-2023) How to determine the influence of elevation on the ground snow load in Italy ?
Distinct variation laws must be applied depending on each zone.
Snow loads are calculated as follows:
Snow loads are calculated as follows:
- Up to 200m :
- Above 200m :
- Zone I-M :
- Zone I-A :
- Zone II :
- Zone III :
How to adjust the ground snow load according to return period in Italy ?
Pn is the annual probability of exceedence :
dwl is the design working life, in years. Look at the design working life of buildings in Italy.
V is the coefficient of variation of annual maximum snow load with V=0.2 for a recurrence interval less than 50 years and V=0.6 for a recurrence interval greater than 50 years.
It should not be applied for annual probabilities of exceedence greater than 0,2 (i.e. return period less than approximately 5 years).
Example of results given by the software
See the features of Eurocodes Zoning for snow analysis in Italy
Available in English/French, otherwise «Google Translate»! 
* The orography factor is calculated for a well individualized obstacle (an emergent zone compared to a general ground without marked relief)
Available in English/French, otherwise «Google Translate»!
B1 - Localization
10.5188° , 43.7455°
56011 Calci, Toscana
B2 - Elevations
| Coordinates | 10.5181°, 43.7303° | 10.5198°, 43.7596° | 10.5198°, 43.7596° | 10.5179°, 43.7901° |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elevations | 60m | 798m | 798m | 109m |
| Obstacle effective height H | 738m | 689m | ||
| Slope actual length Lu / Ld | 3261.4m | 3379.8m | ||
| Slope angle Φ | 22.6% | 20.4% | ||
| Horizontal distance site/top x | 1571.5m | |||
| Elevation at the place of construction | 216m | |||
B3 - Building
common structure
50years
10.0m
15°
B4 - Terrain categories
| Sectors | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roughness classes | C | C | B | B |
Radius R of the angular sector : 1000m
| Sectors | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sector definition | from 330° to 60° | from 60° to 150° | from 150° to 240° | from 240° to 330° |
| Distance to shore | > 100 km | > 100 km | 21.3 km | 19.5 km |
| Exposure category | III | III | III | III |
C1 - Snow UNI EN 1991-1-3 Appendice nazionale 24/09/2010
III (sk,0 = 0.6kN/m2)
Pisa,Toscana
sk,216m = 0.613 kN/m2
s50years = 0.613 kN/m2
C2 - Wind UNI EN 1991-1-4 Appendice nazionale 24/09/2010
3 (vb,0 = 27.0m/s)
Pisa, Toscana
| Sectors | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sector definition | from 330° to 60° | from 60° to 150° | from 150° to 240° | from 240° to 330° |
| Value of the basic wind velocity from the map vb,0,map | 27.0m/s | |||
| Elevation above which wind velocity increases a0 | 500m | |||
| Fundamental value of the basic wind velocity vb,0 | 27.0m/s | |||
| Shape parameter K | 0.138 | |||
| Exponent n | 1.0 | |||
| Annual probability of exceedence p | 0.02 | |||
| Probability factor cprob | 1.0 | |||
| Directional factor cdir | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Basic wind velocity vb | 27.0m/s | 27.0m/s | 27.0m/s | 27.0m/s |
| Reference roughness length z0,II | 0.05m | |||
| Roughness length z0 | 0.1m | 0.1m | 0.1m | 0.1m |
| Terrain factor kr | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Height above ground z | 10.0m | |||
| Minimum height zmin | 5.0m | 5.0m | 5.0m | 5.0m |
| Roughness factor cr(z) | 0.921 | 0.921 | 0.921 | 0.921 |
| Obstacle type | isolated hills | |||
| Exposure type | downwind | - | upwind | - |
| Factor depending on the type and dimensions of the obstacle s | 0.444 | 0.0 | 0.282 | 0.0 |
| Orography factor* co(z) | 1.181 | 1.0 | 1.128 | 1.0 |
| Mean wind velocity vm(z) | 29.4m/s | 24.9m/s | 28.0m/s | 24.9m/s |
| Turbulence factor kl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Standard deviation of the turbulence σv | 5.4m/s | 5.4m/s | 5.4m/s | 5.4m/s |
| Turbulence intensity Iv(z) | 0.184 | 0.217 | 0.193 | 0.217 |
| Air density ρ | 1.25kg/m3 | |||
| Exposure factor ce(z) | 2.706 | 2.138 | 2.532 | 2.138 |
| Peak velocity pressure qp(z) | 1233.0N/m2 | 974.0N/m2 | 1153.8N/m2 | 974.0N/m2 |
| Peak wind velocity for Serviceability Limit States vp(z),SLS | 159.9km/h | 142.1km/h | 154.7km/h | 142.1km/h |
| Peak wind velocity for Ultimate Limit States vp(z),ULS | 195.8km/h | 174.1km/h | 189.4km/h | 174.1km/h |