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Suggested Citation:"6. Cooperative Efforts." National Research Council. 1993. Wind and the Built Environment: U.S. Needs in Wind Engineering and Hazard Mitigation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1995.
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Page 102
Suggested Citation:"6. Cooperative Efforts." National Research Council. 1993. Wind and the Built Environment: U.S. Needs in Wind Engineering and Hazard Mitigation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1995.
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Page 103
Suggested Citation:"6. Cooperative Efforts." National Research Council. 1993. Wind and the Built Environment: U.S. Needs in Wind Engineering and Hazard Mitigation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1995.
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Page 104
Suggested Citation:"6. Cooperative Efforts." National Research Council. 1993. Wind and the Built Environment: U.S. Needs in Wind Engineering and Hazard Mitigation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1995.
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Page 105
Suggested Citation:"6. Cooperative Efforts." National Research Council. 1993. Wind and the Built Environment: U.S. Needs in Wind Engineering and Hazard Mitigation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1995.
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Page 106
Suggested Citation:"6. Cooperative Efforts." National Research Council. 1993. Wind and the Built Environment: U.S. Needs in Wind Engineering and Hazard Mitigation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1995.
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Page 107

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6 Cooperative Efforts INTRODUCTION The mitigation of wind nazaro Is a universal quest that requires a multidisciplinary approach to find solutions. It is not the sole domain of meteorologists, engineers, architects, planners, or any of the other design professionals. Input must also be obtained from related disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, and economics, and from building manufacturers and materials suppliers. Additionally, public officials and the populace must continually be apprised of the consequences of wind hazards because their cooperation in adopting strategies for mitigating wind hazard is essential. A concerted effort must be made to encourage infl~1ctrv-~rlPmi~ in; ; wind-enaineerin~ research ~ ~ 1_ _ _ ~ · . _ __=~ .~ ~_~ 11~L—1 111 111 O . The International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) and especially the U.S. Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction provide excellent opportunities for evaluating the U.S. program on wind-hazard mitigation and for revitalizing research efforts in this area. Given the limited funds available for research worldwide, it is an opportune time to embark on cooperative, international efforts to develop new measures to mitigate wind hazards. To minimize duplicate efforts, it is important to disseminate information about ongoing research as rapidly as possible through such methods as resuming publication of the Wind Engineenng Research Digest (WERD). As mentioned in Chapter 5, the establishment of a central location for all wind- engineering-related publications—a Wind Engineering Research Library—will facilitate and encourage information exchange. INDUSTRY-ACADEMIA COOPERATION Wind-engineering research within the academic community is relatively young. As detailed earlier, it lacks the adequate financial resources essential for a vigorous, concerted program to address the engineering challenges that extreme winds pose. Cooperative research efforts by industry and academia in seeking answers for improved design of wind-resistant systems will greatly speed progress in this area and will provide more visibility for the resultant research findings. A generous financial commitment toward research and development by the building industry and materials manufacturers could help provide much-needed resources to augment the limited funding currently available from the National Science Foundation and other federal a~enci~c The size of this commitment could, for example, be determined as a percentage of total construction costs. In addition to supporting research, Industry must participate more actively in the development of codes and ~02

Cooperative Efforts 103 industry must participate more actively in the development of codes and standards (see Chapter 3~. Over the years, industry has lent its support to venous research efforts. For instance, it has supported a few research projects on determining fluctuating wind pressures on roofs and low-rise metal buildings. The variation of wind pressures over a structure is important for the proper design of rooking, cladding, glazing, components, fastenings, and main frames capable of withstanding extreme wind loads. In addition, the members of the Pnma~y Glass Manufacturers Council have supported recent work by the American Society for Testing and Materials in developing glass strength standards that take into account the imposed w~nd-Ioad conditions. However, much research of direct benefit to industry remains unfunded and could benefit from cooperative efforts. For example, the roofing industry realizes that failures of roofing and connectors constitute a large portion of the total damage cost attributable to extreme winds. By pooling available inflation on reasons for these failures and by helping to fund a cooperative research program with academia, industry could help promote a major step forward in this area. A key finding of a recent workshop on roof wind uplift testing Course, 1989) was that industry recognized the need for such research but refrained from funding it on its own because of the expense. The federal government thus has a role to play in co-funding such research and providing incentives to industry to share the burden. Overall, federal coordination and encouragement of wind research will ensure that a broader scope of research topics is addressed than the narrowly focused agenda industry would likely pursue on its own. DISSEMINATION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS The National Science Foundation provided the funding for initiating and publishing three volumes of the WERD. However, publication was suspended after the third volume, more than 13 years ago, because funding was not available to continue this activity (the third volume of the WERD was published in 1978~. Of the 97 U.S. w~nd-engineering projects listed in this volume (see Table 6-~), 13 were supported by NSF, 30 by private industry, ~ by universities, and the other 44 by federal and state agencies. The report (Chin, 1978) grouped the then-ongoing research activities into 17 different categories. Most of the projects were in the category of wind loading on structures, followed closely by the categories of structure of wind and mode} testing. The research emphasis, thus, was clearly related to the needs of structural engineers and architects. An updated report, followed by periodic subsequent reports, is necessary to ascertain current research activities and to identity areas that should be pursued more vigorously.

104 mad and the Built Environme''t TABLE 6.1 U.S. Projects Listed in the WERD. Multiple sponsors National Institute of Standards and Technology National Science Foundation Nuclear Regulatory Commission U.S. Deparunent of Commerce (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) U.S. Department of Energy Other federal agencies Others Private industry State goverrunent Universities Total Source: Chiu (19781. 13 2 O s 12 10 1 30 10 8 97 INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIVE EFFORTS The need for rapid dissemination of knowledge gained from postdisaster studies of damage caused by extreme winds cannot be emphasized enough. In the Uruted States, the Committee on Natural Disasters of the National Research Council has been dispatching teams consisting of engineers, meteorologists' and social scientists to survey and report on the damage caused by hurricanes and tornadoes as well as other natural disasters for many years. This activity should be extended to the international scene with concurrence, cooperation, and support from affected countries. Such an activity wall further enhance the program of the IDNDR. Hurricanes Gilbert in 1988 and Hugo in 1989 drew much attention to the severe damage that can be caused by extreme winds. Likewise, the 1990 winter windstorms in England, France, and northern Europe farther emphasized the need for mitigation strategies. The w~nd-engineering program in the United States can gain much from cooperative projects by participating in more international postdisaster windstorm damage surveys to learn of Nature mechanisms and by encouraging more mutual exchange of the latest technology for improving the design of structures to withstand the effects of strong winds. In addition, the International Standards Organization has been promoting common guidelines in Europe for designing for wind effects. Input arid participation by the United States in this effort should be pursued.

Cooperative Efforts 105 It would also be advantageous to the United States to pursue a more vigorous, concerted, and coordinated program of cooperative international wind-engineenug research. For example, the pnncipal test method used by curtain wall and window manufacturers for evaluating structural performance follows the ASTM E330 procedures in which the wall or window unit is mounted In a test chamber and subjected to both positive and negative static air pressures equivalent to the maximum wind loads specified for the project. However, some of the materials used in curtain wall construction are time sensitive to loads and to the rate of change of loads. Yet in the United States, these products are not tested with the types of loads simulating actual high-w~nd conditions, such as high gust velocities and relatively rapid fluctuations. Test methods that can better simulate actual severe wind conditions are required, and such tests must be accomplished at a reasonable cost. The United Kingdom and some other European countries do have testing methods and facilities that can simulate a rapid change in wind pressure (Beckett and Godfrey, 1974~. Similarly, the Japanese have a computer-controlled apparatus that can closely imitate the pressure changes during a typical gale. In fact, other countries such as Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom are putting more effort into conducting experimental w~nd-eng~neering research than the United States is. Several of the major construction companies in Japan (Kumagai Gumi, Shim~zu, and Kajima) have in-house research staffs engaged in wind-engineering research using boundary-layer wind tunnels. However, many of the projects are proprietary. In the Tsukuba Science City alone, there are more than 35 wind tunnels for research purposes (Marshall, 1984~. The boundary-layer wind tunnels at the Public Works Research Institute and the Building Research Institute are extremely well equipped for physical model studies of buildings and structures, and several universities also have wind tunnels available for studying wind effects on structures. Cooperative U.S.-Japan research efforts will therefore greatly benefit the U.S. wind research program. The way was paved for initiating U.S.-Japan contacts by holding two U.S.-Iapan Research Seminars, the first in 1970 and the second in 1974 (Chin, 1970; Ishizaki and Chiu, 1974), which were jointly sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. These seminars should be reinstated as soon as possible as regular, biennial events and should include selected participants from industry. The annual Pane} Conferences of the U.S.-Japan Program in Natural Resources have been limited pnmar~ly to representatives from governmental agencies. Discussions at these panel conferences have also been concentrated, to a large degree, on seismic rather than wind issues. The eastern coast of India (especially the state of Andhra Pradesh) is exposed to the frequent, violent tropical cyclones spawned in the Bay of Bengal. The Philippines (Luzon particularly); Taiwan; Hong Kong; the southeastern coast of China; the Ryuk~u Islands; and various islands in the South Pacific, such as Guam and Saipan, are also exposed to strong tropical cyclones. Typhoons make landfalls more frequently in the aforementioned

106 Wind and He Built Environment places than on the eastern coast of the United States; they can provide fertile held laboratory sites for full-scare studies of extreme wind effects on structures. Typhoon landfalls on Taiwan, for example, are more frequent than on the Atlantic coast of the United States. It would be advantageous, through a bilateral cooperative research project, to have in readiness a mobile w~nd- speed measuring system that can be deployed quickly to the predicted landfall area to obtain actual wind speeds near the ground. In addition to the immediate benefit of obtaining valuable w~nd-speed data, the project would provide an opportunity for the development of remote sensing systems and rugged sensors that could withstand the expected higher wind speeds. As stated in Chapter 2, the difficulty in obtaining reliably recorded wind speeds near the ground has been a hindrance to the development of a good data base for denv~ng reliable design wind speeds. In addition to the above, it should be noted that recent events in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union may lead to additional opportunities for sharing wind data and conducting cooperative research with these countnes. Furthermore, the growing interest in global climate change research could provide yet another avenue to pursue potential international cooperation in wind engineering. The IDNDR would be a particularly good vehicle to promote these and all such international research efforts. Increased cooperation and integration must exist not only with other nations, but also with related disciplines. The Research Committee on Disasters of ache International Sociological Association has hundreds of members throughout the world. These social 9.cientictc ~tl,rlV icc,~-c imnr~rtant ~ _ ~ ~ ~ · , · ~ to me mullgauon off response to, and recovery from wind-induced disasters. Integration of the technical engineering aspects of wind disasters with the social sciences aspects is necessary because the Droblem of win~l-in~l,~1 disasters is inherently multidisciplinary. ~ ~^ ~^ ', Add_ 444~__~ over the years, a number of national, regional, and international conferences, symposia, and workshops have been held to promote mutual exchange of wind-engineerin~` research findings and to encourage cooperative research projects. A list of selected meetings is presented in Appendix ~ The number of such meetings has increased over time, attesting to the apparent interest in finding solutions for wind-hazard mitigation. It is encouraging to note that attendance by design professionals as well as industry _~'a-~a~lv~ "L L11~ ~UlU~l~ll~b 1b ~15~ 1ncre~lng. ouch forums should be actively promoted as part of the effort to catalyze and share the results of cooperative international research. It—TIC ~~+ —~^ ~^ 41 ~~ ~~ ~ ~ · 1 · · ~ ~ ~ _ ,& RECOMMENDATIONS The following recommendations to encourage cooperative efforts in mitigating damage from wind hazard are drawn from the above text:

Cooperative Efforts 107 I. Encourage the building industry and industrial manufacturers to financially support nonproprietary wind research and development projects within both academic and industrial laboratories. 2. Pursue joint international wind research efforts (e.g., wind characterization and structural response) under the rubric of the IDNDR with a special emphasis on developing a mutual research program with Japan, whose state-of-the-art research facilities provide important opportunities for study not available in the United States. 3. Actively solicit industry involvement in developing building codes and standards, and encourage U.S. input to the development of the International Standards Organ~zation's code on wind loads. 4. Encourage the organization of and participation in national, regional, arid international seminars, conferences, symposia, and workshops to disseminate research findings. 5. Fund active participation in post-wind-disaster studies for mutual shanug of postdisaster survey findings and lessons learned.

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Wind and the Built Environment: U.S. Needs in Wind Engineering and Hazard Mitigation Get This Book
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This book assesses wind engineering research studies in the past two decades to identify an interdisciplinary research agenda and delineate an action plan for evaluation of critical wind engineering efforts.

It promotes the interdisciplinary approach to achieve collaborative research, assesses the feasibility of formalizing undergraduate wind engineering curricula, and assesses international wind engineering research activities and transfer approaches for U.S. applications.

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