Simulating Wind Loads on Various Terrains with the Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel

NHERI’s University of Florida wind hazards facility is one of the world’s largest and most diverse suites of experimental infrastructure. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the UF’s boundary layer wind tunnel is located within the Powell Family Structures and Materials Laboratory. 

In June and July 2021, the DesignSafe Radio podcast features interviews with NHERI at UF facility director and principal investigator Jennifer Bridge, who details the capabilities UF wind tunnel and the research it makes possible. 

The UF facility is a boundary layer wind tunnel, a large-scale instrument that wind engineers use for examining that space on the earth’s surface where the wind interacts with the built environment. As Bridge explains: “We simulate wind loads that structures are going to see.” Inside the wind tunnel, researchers use an automated tool called a “terraformer,” which creates model terrain conditions for subjecting to synoptic (large-scale, relatively uniform) wind loads. Bridge explains the importance of understanding the complex interactions of wind and structural geometry, including how different terrains can affect wind.

Related links:

• NHERI’s University of Florida experimental facility
• Video overview of the wind tunnel facility located within the University of Florida’s Powell Family Structures and Materials Laboratory.
• Work at UF helps engineers design structures that enable Floridians to survive extreme wind events. Video interview with UF professor Forrest Masters.

“We’re able to model different types of terrain conditions. We can do everything from the marine all the way through even urban terrain conditions. You’re going to get different wind profiles for different terrain conditions.” -Jennifer Bridge

Listen to the podcast on the DesignSafe Radio website, or subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. 

Interested in natural hazards research? Follow DesignSafe Radio on Facebook and Twitter. 

DesignSafe Radio highlights ways that NSF-supported research renders infrastructure and communities more resilient to natural hazards like earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis and storm surge. The podcast is produced by NHERI, the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure, NSF award CMMI 1612144. Any statements in this material are those of the presenter(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.