Keynote speakers

Jasna B. Jakobsen

Field observations of bridge deck aerodynamics

The lecture will give an overview of ongoing studies into the interaction between the natural wind and a suspension bridge, utilizing an advanced monitoring system that has been in operation on the Lysefjord bridge in Norway since 2013. Initially, the system comprised a conventional set of sonic anemometers, weather station and accelerometers, but has since been expanded by deploying several novel measurement systems, designed to capture the nature of the wind-bridge interaction. This includes a dedicated anemometry in the proximity of the bride deck trailing and leading edge, detachable strips for non-invasive surface pressure measurements, and several campaigns with dual and triple optical wind sensors (lidars). The lecture will offer a synthesis of the data acquired by the complementary measurement systems, as well as the analysis undertaken, with focus on the generation of the buffeting loading and the vortex shedding process, in the local wind field.

Bert Blocken

CFD in wind engineering: on successes and failures in large case studies

Over the past two decades, CFD has transitioned from a tool in basic research and some simplified case studies to a tool that is frequently used for complex case studies in research and engineering practice. These studies range from pedestrian-level wind comfort and air pollutant dispersion in actual urban areas, over wind forces on buildings and ships in complex topography to urban thermal microclimate including heat waves in urban areas and their amplification by the urban heat island effect. However, not all of these case studies have been successful. It appears that in some cases, this application of CFD for complex case studies has gone too fast compared to the required basic research achievements, in terms of wall function development and basic recommendations and best practice guidelines that should ensure a minimum level of accuracy and reliability of the case studies. This presentation presents some successes but also some failures in large case studies that were due to these problems. The presentation indicates which basic developments are missing and suggests venues for future basic research to alleviate the present hurdles towards successful large case studies.

Girma Bitsuamlak

New Approaches for Assessing Synoptic and Non-Synoptic Wind Loading on Structures

Designing for wind effects is crucial for ensuring the safety and sustainability of buildings and civil structures. Accurate modeling of wind and its interactions with the built environment is essential. The presentation will focus on the intricacies of generating various wind systems, including multi-scale synoptic wind systems like hurricanes, and non-synoptic winds like downbursts and tornadoes, within a controlled environment. This exploration is facilitated by physical testing of scaled models at the WindEEE Research Facilities located at Western University, capable of generating both stationary and nonstationary wind systems with varying levels of turbulence. Recent collaborative research projects focusing on assessing the effects of downbursts and tornadoes on buildings and other structures will be presented as case studies. The aerodynamic data obtained from the WindEEE serves dual purposes: direct utilization in wind-resilient design practices and the codification process. Additionally, it is used to validate numerical models, which, in turn, enables the exploration of multi-physics and multi-scale simulations that may extend beyond the capabilities of experimental facilities.