Wind Engineering and Experimental Aerodynamics
Contact:
WEEA Program
Aerospace Eng. Dept
2271 Howe Hall, Rm 1200
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011-2271 U.S.A.
ABOUT US…
WEEA Program at ISU
The Wind Engineering and Experimental Aerodynamics (WEEA) Program at ISU focuses on the study of fluid-structure interaction problems that include, mainly the detrimental effects of wind on civil and mechanical structures, and the environment, and a wide range of aerospace-related research.
Tornados, thunderstorm outflows, and frontal winds that occur in most of the U.S. mainland and hurricanes that make landfall along the U.S. coastline cause about 70% of the total insured loss due to all natural hazards in the United States. For example, each year an average of 800-1000 tornados occur and cause 80 deaths, 1500 injuries, and $850 million worth of damage, whereas thunderstorms cause an estimated property damage of $1.4 billion/year in the U.S. The state of Iowa and other central states are particularly vulnerable to these types of wind. Iowa is 9th most prone tornado state with an average of approximately $50 million of damages every year.
The primary goal of wind engineering research in this program is to conduct comprehensive studies of near-ground winds generated by tornados, thunderstorms, hurricanes and gust fronts and assess their damaging effects on built structures and developed lands (including farmland), with the purpose of improving their design to reduce damaging effects. Wind Engineering is a multi-disciplinary field of study that requires involvement of researchers from various departments of engineering, environmental and atmospheric sciences, economics, statistics and architecture. Tools such as wind tunnels and computational fluid dynamics, combined with analytical and statistical methods, are used to solve the relevant problems.
Experimental aerodynamics activities in the lab include the development of flow diagnostics tools and techniques and the design and testing of aircraft and aircraft components. The work in the lab utilizes the latest in thermal and optical (including PIV) diagnostic techniques and several other instruments. Outside of the typical aerospace activities, the lab has also been involved in various projects involving ground-vehicle aerodynamics.
The WEEA program at ISU is unique by virtue of its location in the Department of Aerospace Engineering. It gains from the synergism of the existing strengths of this department in solid, fluid and experimental mechanics, aerodynamics, vibrations and aeroelasticity, computational fluid dynamics, computational mechanics and composite structures - areas that are essential for its success. This program has received significant funding from the US National Science Foundation since its inception in 2000.
WiST Laboratory
A world-class Wind Simulation and Testing (WiST) Laboratory is in development at ISU to address various wind hazard needs. The WiST Lab will house facilities that simulate straight-line gusts, thunderstorm-winds and tornado-like vortices. These facilities are appropriately called "advanced or next generation" wind tunnels because of their unique capabilities. It is a state-of-the-art experimental facility that is equipped with the latest instrumentation for conducting research, education, consulting and outreach for applications in wind engineering, aeronautics and industrial aerodynamics. The WiST Lab will help ISU provide high-quality educational and research opportunities to young engineers and scientists to prepare them for the challenges of the 21st century.
The WiST Lab includes:
a closed-circuit tunnel with two test sections (under construction; completion by October 2004), one for aerodynamic testing (8 ft wide by 6 ft high section, maximum wind of 110 mph) and the other for tests that require simulation of atmospheric boundary layer wind (8 ft wide by 7.25 ft high section, maximum wind of 85 mph), a gust-generation capability and an alternate open-circuit mode of operation;
a recently built tornado/microburst simulator with a test section of 20 ft wide x 34 ft length x 18 ft high and capabilities for generating a translating microburst-like jet (6.0 ft diameter) and a tornado-like vortex (4.0 ft diameter) for model testing;
an open-circuit tunnel for aerodynamic testing (3.0 ft wide by 2.5 ft high section, maximum wind of 180 mph);
a closed-circuit tunnel for aerodynamic testing (1 ft wide by 1 ft high section; maximum wind of 150 mph);
a smoke tunnel with a 2D section for flow visualization;
a workshop that includes a 3D router among other tools with capability to build models;
state-of-the-art instrumentation for measurements of flow (including PIV), pressure, force and response.