Wind engineering research
Wind Research Laboratory (WiRL) is comprised of atmospheric scientists and engineers that conduct specialised, interdisciplinary research in the following areas:
- Catastrophe loss modelling
- Post-storm damage assessments
- Severe convective thunderstorms (e.g. downbursts and tornadoes)
- Tropical cyclones
- Wind engineering
- Wind tunnel research
- Bluff body (building) aerodynamics
Current projects
4. Numerical simulation of the progressive collapse of transmission line systems
This project, led by PhD candidate Fabio Oliveira, aims to investigate transmission line (TL) longitudinal cascades triggered during extratropical or downburst wind events by applying time-domain dynamic analysis, based on a central finite difference scheme. The post-elastic behavior of the steel lattice supports is incorporated through nonlinear analytical techniques. This procedure incorporates geometric and material nonlinear effects also accounting for large displacements according to an updated Lagrangian formulation. Wind loads for the dynamic analysis are produced based on correlated time-dependent wind speed histories. An autoregressive moving-average method (ARMA) is employed to add turbulence to the extratropical and downburst wind fields according to stochastic process theory. Founded on case studies performed with the model, this project aims to suggest procedures for including cascade loading in the design of transmission line supports, based on a desired safety level