Multiscale testing of mission-critical infrastructure under extreme winds

PURPOSE:THE PURPOSE OF THIS GRANT IS TO PURCHASE, INSTALL, AND IMPLEMENT NEW INSTRUMENTS INSIDE THE EXISTING UNIQUE WIND TUNNEL AT UB THAT IS DESIGNED TO REPRODUCE THE COMPLEX WIND FIELDS ASSOCIATED WITH EXTREME WIND EVENTS SUCH AS HURRICANES AND THUNDERSTORM DOWNBURSTS.ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED:THIS GRANT HAS THREE PLANNED ACTIVITIES: (1) TO ADD PASSIVE TURBULENCE GENERATORS TO GENERATE ACCURATELY AND EFFICIENTLY THE CONVENTIONAL ATMOSPHERIC BOUNDARY LAYER WIND FIELD IN THE WIND TUNNEL, (2) TO ADD HIGH-PERFORMANCE WORKSTATIONS TO LEVERAGE THE POWER OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) TO ENABLE THE UB WIND TUNNEL TO GENERATE TARGETED TRANSIENT WIND FIELDS ACCURATELY AND EFFICIENTLY, AND (3) TO ADD A LARGE NUMBER OF SERVO MOTORS TO FACILITATE EXPERIMENTS BEING CONDUCTED ON ADAPTABLE STRUCTURES MODIFIED ACCORDING TO VARIOUS LOAD CONDITIONS IN THE UB WIND TUNNEL TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE THAT THE WIND LOADS ON THE BUILDINGS, BRIDGES, AND OTHER STRUCTURES MAY CHANGE DURING THEIR LIFETIME DUE TO HIGHLY UNCERTAIN FUTURE CONDITIONS, SUCH AS THE REGIONAL CLIMATE CHANGES.EXPECTED OUTCOMES:THESE NEW INSTRUMENTS WILL GREATLY ENHANCE THE CAPABILITIES OF THE UB WIND TUNNEL AND WILL HELP CHARACTERIZE THE EFFECTS OF WIND-INDUCED LOADINGS ON MISSION-CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO ENABLE IMPROVED MODELING, ANALYSIS, AND DESIGN, CODES AND STANDARDS, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOOLS FOR COST-EFFECTIVE CONSTRUCTION AND CLIMATE ADAPTATION.INTENDED BENEFICIARIES:RESEARCH GENERATED FROM THE WIND TUNNEL AND THE PLANNED EQUIPMENT WILL BENEFIT COMMUNITIES THREATENED BY EXTREME WIND EVENTS. IN ADDITION, THE RESEARCH FACILITIES PROVIDE EXCELLENT STEM TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCHERS AND GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS.SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES:THE RECIPIENT DOES NOT INTEND TO SUBAWARD FUNDS.