Cyber-Physical Systems Approach to the Optimal Design of Structures for Wind Hazards

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The goal of this research is to pioneer a cyber-physical systems (CPS) methodology for the optimal design of structures subjected to wind hazards. The CPS approach will combine wind tunnel testing at the NSF-supported Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure facility at the University of Florida with computer-augmented design to produce optimal structural designs faster and with greater confidence than purely experimental or purely computational methods. Experimental wind tunnel testing provides unparalleled accuracy in the development and evaluation of building and bridge designs under steady wind loads, gusts, and complex wind-structure interaction. At the same time, computational optimization methods enable the rapid creation and evaluation of competing designs to best meet specified objectives. Advances in the science of CPS can lead to seamless integration of physical wind tunnel testing into computer-driven design and optimization. The CPS approach can supplement or replace laborious trial-and-error design approaches, which often require extensive iterations and communication burden between the architects and structural engineers and do not exhaustively explore a wide range of design alternatives. This project will advance the capability to build stronger, lighter, and more resilient structures in the face of wind hazards. At the same time, by weighing cost-effectiveness directly in the design approach, selected designs will make more sustainable use of resources and ultimately have a better chance of being constructed. A stakeholder group will be formed to ensure that the parameters, constraints, and performance objectives relevant to wind engineering from various academic, industrial, and governmental organizations are considered and appropriately balanced in the approach. Additionally, project outreach activities will increase the scientific literacy and public awareness of wind hazards and engineering solutions while including the participation of underrepresented groups in science, engineering, technology, and mathematics (STEM) fields directly in the research.This research will advance theory, research, and practice in wind engineering by combining the reliability of experimental wind tunnel testing with efficiency of computational-based optimization techniques. The CPS methodology will be directed by a high performance computer, implementing optimization algorithms, while each candidate solution will be rapidly evaluated through experimental testing in a networked boundary layer wind tunnel. This methodology will optimize geometric (e.g., shape and porosity) and structural (e.g., stiffness and damping) properties of scaled structural models. The properties will be rapidly adjusted prior to each scaled duration wind tunnel test. A networked supercomputer will monitor feedback information from sensors, apply optimization techniques (augmented by finite element analysis), and determine a new structural configuration for the next physical test. Objectives will be user-defined (e.g., minimize weight or base shear) within constraints (e.g., meeting requirements for drift, acceleration, and occupancy). This research will advance the fields of wind and structural engineering by: (1) combining the strengths of high-fidelity experimental testing and numerically-driven optimization, (2) advancing the development and application of meta-heuristic optimization algorithms in a practical engineering setting, (3) discovering new design and detailing features to achieve cost-effective civil infrastructure under wind hazards, and (4) creating a system for satisfying performance requirements, e.g., for performance-based design.