Roof tile frangibility and puncture of metal window shutters

The goal of this study was to investigate the vulnerability of roof tile systems and metal shutters to roof tile debris. Three phases addressed the performance of tile roof systems and metal shutters impacted by roof tile debris. The first phase experimentally evaluated the tile fragment size and quantity generated by a tile striking a tile roof system. The second phase experimentally quantified the puncture vulnerability of common metal panel shutter systems as a function of tile fragment impact speed. The third phase provided context for interpretation of the experimental results through the use of a tile trajectory model. The results provide supporting evidence that while metal panel window shutters provide significant protection against a prevalent form of windborne debris, these systems are vulnerable to tile fragment puncture in design level tropical cyclones. These findings correlate with field observations made after Hurricane Charley (2004).