Supported Projects

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Cyber-Physical Systems Approach to the Optimal Design of Structures for Wind Hazards, NSF Award number 1636039

Research Highlight: Aeroelastic Real-time Hybrid Simulation

Project Objective:

• Integration of traditional experimental testing with heuristic optimization algorithms and mechatronic building models to create a cyber-physical approach to the optimal design of structures

Team Members: 

• University of Maryland: Brian Phillips (PI), Pedro Fernández-Cabán (Postdoc), Michael Whiteman (Ph.D. Student)
• University of Florida: Forrest Masters (Co-PI)

Key Achievements: 

• First cyberphysical tests conducted in a wind tunnel
• Demonstrated the potential of a cyber-physical design approach in wind engineering

Broader Impacts: 

• Advancing the capability to build stronger, lighter, and more resilient structures in the face of wind hazards
• Designs will make more sustainable use of resources and ultimately have a better chance of being constructed by weighing cost-effectiveness directly in the design approach

Figure 1. Diagram of cyber-physical framework for optimal design under wind loading

Figure 2. Low-rise building model with controllable parapet wall.

Figure 3. Aeroelastic model under development

EAGER/Collaborative Research: Aeroelastic Real-Time Hybrid Simulation for Wind Engineering Experimentation, NSF AWARD NUMBERS 1732223 & 1732213

Research Highlight: Aerolastic Real-Time Hybrid Simulation (aeroRTHS): Validation of Vortex Introduced Vibration of a Tall Building Structure

Project Objective:

• Extend Real-Time Hybrid Simulation (RTHS) to wind engineering applications (aeroRTHS)

Team Members: 

• Richard Christenson, Sergio Lobo-Aguilar & Yuan Yuan (UConn) 
• Steven Wojtkiewicz & Jie Dong (Clarkson)

Key Achievements: 

• AeroRTHS can be used to scale mass, stiffness and damping of an aeroelastic building model
• Compensation of transfer system and pressure sensors and calculation of wind force from 128 pressure sensors is possible for real-time results
• AeroRTHS captures wind speed dependent behavior of vortex induced vibration (VIV) and can provide physical insight into dynamic coupling

Broader Impacts: 

• Contribute to the reliability and resilience of infrastructure by enabling the investigation of windstorm hazard mitigation approaches applied in a non-destructive, cost-effective manner
• Workshop held in April 2019 in UF EF to facilitate the use of aeroRTHS throughout the wind and seismic research communities.

Figure 4. Calculated wind forces on the building model during vortex induced vibration

Figure 5. Sensing and control loop for the aeroelastic building model in the wind tunnel

CAREER: Behavior of Hurricane Wind and Wind-Driven Rain in the Coastal Suburban Roughness Sublayer NSF Award #  1055744

Research Highlight: Behavior of Hurricane Wind and Wind-Driven Rain in the Coastal Suburban Roughness Sublayer

Project Objective:

• Investigate the effects of freestream turbulence on low-rise building roofs

Team Members: 

• University of Florida: Forrest Masters (PI) and Pedro Fernández-Cabán (Postdoc)

Key Achievements: 

• Confirmed previous work from Akon and Kopp (2016) concerning the systematic reduction in mean reattachment length with rougher upwind terrains
• Suggests that the spatial distribution of pressure fluctuations is mostly dominated by the interaction of the turbulent boundary layer with the structure of the separation bubble and less so by the freestream flow conditions

Broader Impacts: 

• Ultimately support research to reduce our reliance on empiricism and physical testing to model flows over bluff-bodies

Fernández-Cabán PL and Masters FJ (2018) Effects of Freestream Turbulence on the Pressure Acting on a Low-Rise Building Roof in the Separated Flow Region. Front. Built Environ. 4:17. doi: 10.3389/fbuil.2018.00017

Project Highlight: Cyber-physical Design and Optimization in Wind Engineering

Completed or Ongoing Experiments