Modeler Helping With Wind Research

A Boston-based modeling firm said it is contributing $50,000 toward equipment used for university research into the impact of storm wind on structures.

AIR Worldwide Corp. said the donation was part of collaboration with the International Hurricane Research Center and the College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University.

It said the money will fund the installation of the “AIR Turntable” for the “RenaissanceRe Wall of Wind” (WOW) hurricane simulator.

The AIR Turntable is a computer-controlled, circular mechanical platform which will be used to evaluate extreme wind loading conditions by testing buildings with wind blasts from different angles.

AIR Turntable will be programmed to simulate directionality-change effects on test structures mounted on its platform. The platform moves small structures to face the Wall of Wind–a group of monster-sized fans that create wind.

“Just as the effective monitoring of car crash tests drastically changed automobile safety through the introduction of air bags, the IHRC research team intends to do the same for the housing industry through full-scale testing of buildings and their components,” said Stephen P. Leatherman, director of the center.

“The WOW testing aided by the capabilities of the AIR Turntable will revolutionize our residential and commercial construction and retrofitting practices and lead to more effective methods of strengthening buildings against extreme winds,” he promised.

The WOW structure includes six industrial fans capable of replicating Category 4 hurricane conditions with winds up to 140 miles per hour. The simulation will allow scientists to study the impact of hurricane-force winds and wind-driven precipitation on a variety of building types and materials, as well as construction methods, Air said.

The company added that the AIR Turntable is part of the WOW facility which is being constructed on the Engineering campus of Florida International University.

It said the testing facility will enable full-scale structural testing. By eliminating scaling errors, full-scale testing provides a more realistic simulation, which is crucial to better understanding the effects of extreme winds on buildings, materials and construction methods, it was explained.

Although several universities, private industries and government laboratories have experimental and testing facilities for wind engineering, no other facility in the U.S. is currently capable of testing full-scale buildings to destruction, Air said.

According to Jayanta Guin, senior vice president of research and modeling at Air Worldwide, “Air is committed to researching mitigation technologies in order to reduce the vulnerability of properties in extreme wind events such as hurricanes.

“The findings from this research project should lead to improved mitigation strategies and better building methods, which will ultimately help reduce economic losses from future catastrophes.”

The test facility is slated to be completed by the end of this summer. The WOW project is also supported by RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. and the State of Florida Division of Emergency Management.