Wall of wind research and testing to enhance resilience of civil infrastructure to hurricane multi-hazards
Book Chapter
Chowdhury, AG, Moravej, M, Habte, F. (2016). Wall of wind research and testing to enhance resilience of civil infrastructure to hurricane multi-hazards
. 357-379. 10.1007/978-3-319-29713-2_17
Chowdhury, AG, Moravej, M, Habte, F. (2016). Wall of wind research and testing to enhance resilience of civil infrastructure to hurricane multi-hazards
. 357-379. 10.1007/978-3-319-29713-2_17
The Wall of Wind (WOW) research facility at Florida International University (FIU) allows large- and full-scale testing of buildings and infrastructure, and is capable of simulating up to Category 5 hurricane wind speeds, making it the largest and most powerful university research facility of its kind. The WOW facility has made a significant impact on the mitigation of hurricane damage to civil infrastructure through extensive research conducted by the wind engineering team at FIU’s International Hurricane Research Center (IHRC) and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE). Since roofs are known to be the most vulnerable component of low-rise buildings, they have been the subject of many research projects conducted at the WOW. In this chapter, two large-scale studies performed on low-rise building roof coverings are reported and discussed. The first study discusses the results of full-scale wind testing on hip, ridge, and eave perimeter tiles and reveals how much valuable information can be assessed by full-scale modeling of building elements and details. In the second study, an experimental investigation conducted at WOW with the objective of evaluating the structural performance of standing seam metal roofs under high wind speeds is presented. Full-scale investigations, including wind-induced roof surface pressure measurements and roof panel deflection measurements, were conducted. The observed failure modes under realistic wind loading conditions were different from what is typically observed with standard uniform pressure testing methods. These experiments revealed new aspects of roof responses to high wind speeds and highlighted the importance of large- or full-scale modeling of buildings and structures that can incorporate realistic component and connection details and architectural features.
