Event Title
Location
London
Event Website
http://www.csce2016.ca/
Description
The EF-Scale estimates tornado wind speeds by the damage left in their wake, including the damage done to residential houses. The scale was developed based on an expert elicitation process, and so empirical testing is useful in determining its accuracy. Wind tunnel testing is often used to test low-rise buildings but building code configurations tend to be single, isolated houses, even though residential houses are much more common in suburban environments with many neighbouring buildings. The objective of this testing was to assess the roof-failure wind speeds for residential buildings in typical neighbourhood patterns and compare them to rural residence failure speeds and the EF-Scale. To this end, a 1:50 scale model of a suburban neighbourhood with 32 houses was built and tested in a wind tunnel. The effects of several variables such as wind direction and presence of dominant openings were also included in the study. After testing, it was concluded that neighbouring houses provided shielding and increased failure wind speeds in the range of 5 – 10%. Interestingly, when the shielding effects are considered, the range of failure wind speeds matches the range set out by the EF-Scale. Further work will analyze these points in greater detail.
Included in
NDM-531: WIND TUNNEL TESTING OF RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBOURHOOD MODEL TO ANALYZE ROOF FAILURES IN HIGH WINDS
London
The EF-Scale estimates tornado wind speeds by the damage left in their wake, including the damage done to residential houses. The scale was developed based on an expert elicitation process, and so empirical testing is useful in determining its accuracy. Wind tunnel testing is often used to test low-rise buildings but building code configurations tend to be single, isolated houses, even though residential houses are much more common in suburban environments with many neighbouring buildings. The objective of this testing was to assess the roof-failure wind speeds for residential buildings in typical neighbourhood patterns and compare them to rural residence failure speeds and the EF-Scale. To this end, a 1:50 scale model of a suburban neighbourhood with 32 houses was built and tested in a wind tunnel. The effects of several variables such as wind direction and presence of dominant openings were also included in the study. After testing, it was concluded that neighbouring houses provided shielding and increased failure wind speeds in the range of 5 – 10%. Interestingly, when the shielding effects are considered, the range of failure wind speeds matches the range set out by the EF-Scale. Further work will analyze these points in greater detail.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/csce2016/London/NaturalDisasterMitigation/23
