As the wind blows against a building, the resulting force acting on the elevations is called the ‘wind load’. The building’s structural design must absorb wind forces safely and efficiently and transfer them to the foundations in order to avoid structural collapse.
Armed with pressure and drag data, you can find the wind load using the following formula: force = area x pressure x Cd. Using the example of a flat section of a structure, the area – or length x width – can be set to 1 square foot, resulting in a wind load of 1 x 25.6 x 2 = 51.2 psf for a 100-mph wind.