Structures Congress 2019
Non-Stationary Characteristics of Tornadoes and Induced Dynamic Impact on a Large-Span Dome Structure
Publication: Structures Congress 2019: Bridges, Nonbuilding and Special Structures, and Nonstructural Components
ABSTRACT
Tornadoes may be one of the most destructive natural disasters. They cause about 10 billion dollars in damage and kill 70 people on average annually in the United States. Effects of tornadoes on civil structures have been widely studied. However, the research on their dynamic impact has been lacking. In this study, non-stationary characteristics of tornadoes are investigated, and then their dynamic impact on a dome structure is determined. Computational fluid dynamics simulations are applied to characterize tornado-induced time-variant wind pressure on the dome surface, which is then mapped onto the finite element model of the dome structure. Next, transient time-history analyses are conducted to explore tornado-induced dynamic responses. Numerical results show that wind pressure becomes non-stationary and the induced dynamic responses are significant when the core radius of the tornado translates to the dome edge. More severe dynamic impact is observed when the tornado first approaches the dome structure.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was supported by National Science Foundation, the Hazard Mitigation and Structural Engineering program, through the project of “Damage and Instability Detection of Civil Large-scale Space Structures under Operational and Multi-hazard Environments” [award number 1455709].
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Published In
Structures Congress 2019: Bridges, Nonbuilding and Special Structures, and Nonstructural Components
Pages: 361 - 372
Editor: James Gregory Soules, McDermott International
ISBN (Online): 978-0-7844-8223-0
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© 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Published online: Apr 22, 2019
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