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Wind zones map – Belgium

What are the Belgian wind zones according to Eurocode 1 ?

On the map of the national annex, the Belgian area is divided into four wind zones.

Fundamental value of the basic wind velocity vb,023 m/s24 m/s25 m/s26 m/s
Wind zoning of Belgium (2010-2024)

How to adjust the basic wind velocity for each direction of wind and according to return period in Belgium ?

\[\displaystyle v_{b} = c_{prob} \cdot c_{dir} \cdot v_{b,0}\]
  • A variation have to be considered with the probability factor Cprob.
  • When the wind comes from a direction where the probability of occurrence of strong winds is less, a reduction can be considered with the directional factor Cdir.
  • You should also take in account the effect of the roughness of the terrain (vegetation / urbanization) and the effect of orography (terrain relief) to accurately determine the peak velocity pressure for each wind direction.

Quelles sont les catégories de terrain en Belgique ?

0 :

Sea or coastal area exposed to the open sea.

I :

Lakes or area with negligible vegetation and without obstacles.

II :

Area with low vegetation such as grass and isolated obstacles (trees, buildings) with separations of at least 20 obstacle heights.

III :

Area with regular cover of vegetation or buildings or with isolated obstacles with separations of maximum 20 obstacle heights (such as villages, suburban terrain, permanent forest).

IV :

Area in which at least 15% of the surface is covered with buildings and their average height exceeds 15m.

Eurocodes Zoning lets you obtain the wind zones free of charge from a GPS point


Example of results given by the software Eurocodes Zoning

B1 – Localization

  • Coordinates in World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84) 4.9053°, 50.2445°
  • Coordinates in Belgian Geodetic System 2008 (Lambert 2008) 688279m, 603864m

Address Rondchêne, 5500 Dinant, Wallonie


B2 – Altitudes

Coordinates4.9013°, 50.241°4.9044°, 50.2436°
Elevations96m189m
Obstacle effective height H93m
Slope actual length Lu / Ld 361.4m
Slope angle Φ 25.7%
Horizontal distance site/top x121.2m
Elevation at the place of construction197m

B3 – Building

  • Type of building : common building with floors (apartments and/or office spaces)
  • Design working life category : 100 years
  • Max height : 7.0m
  • Orientation from North : 35°

B4 – Terrain categories

Sectors1234
CategoriesIIIIIIIII
Radius R of the angular sector 300m

C1 – Snow

NBN EN 1991-1-3 ANB (october 2007)

  • Zone Belgium : (sk,0 = 0.5 kN/m²)
  • Criteria for zoning : Dinant, Namur
  • Characteristic value of snow on the ground at the relevant site : sk,197 = 0.613 kN/m²
  • Ground snow load with a return period of 100 years : s100 ans = 0.695 kN/m²

C2 – Wind

NBN EN 1991-1-4 ANB (december 2010)

  • Zone : 24.0 m/s
  • Criteria for zoning : Dinant, Namur
  • Zone cdir : Belgium
Sectors1234
Sector definition from  350 °  to  80 ° from  80 °  to  170 ° from  170 °  to  260 ° from  260 °  to  350 °
Fundamental value of the basic wind velocity  vb,0 24.0m/s
Shape parameter  K 0.2
Exponent n0.5
Annual probability of exceedence p0.01
Probability factor  cprob 1.038
Directional factor  cdir 1.00.9831.01.0
Basic wind velocity  vb 24.9m/s24.5m/s24.9m/s24.9m/s
Reference roughness length  z0,II 0.05m
Roughness length  z0 0.05m0.05m0.3m0.05m
Terrain factor  kr 0.190.190.2150.19
Height above ground z7.0m
Minimum height  zmin 2.0m2.0m5.0m2.0m
Roughness factor  cr(z) 0.9390.9390.6780.939
Obstacle typecliffs
Exposure typedownwind
Factor depending on the type and dimensions of the obstacle  s max 0.00.00.5980.0
Orography factor  * co(z) 1.01.01.3081.0
Mean wind velocity  vm(z) 23.4m/s23.0m/s22.1m/s23.4m/s
Turbulence factor  kl 0.9950.9951.2470.995
Standard deviation of the turbulence  σv 4.713m/s4.634m/s6.696m/s4.713m/s
Turbulence intensity  Iv(z) 0.2010.2010.3030.201
Air density  ρ 1.225kg/m3
Exposure factor  ce(z) 2.1242.1242.4561.124
Peak velocity pressure qp(z) 824.7N/m2797.5N/m2953.3N/m2824.7N/m2
Peak wind velocity for Serviceability Limit States  vp(z),SLS 130.8km/h128.6km/h140.6km/h130.8km/h
Peak wind velocity for Ultimate Limit States  vp(z),ULS 160.2km/h157.5km/h172.2km/h160.2km/h
* The orography factor is calculated for a well individualized obstacle (an emergent zone compared to a general ground without marked relief)

C3 – Seism

NBN EN 1998-1 ANB (october 2011)

  • Zone : 1 (0,39 m/s²)
  • Criteria for zoning : Dinant, Namur
  • A seismic analysis may be required for this building.