Cruz-García, Edward L.

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    CFD numerical simulations to elucidate the wind speedup generated by the geomorphic complexity of Puerto Rico
    (2020-12-11) Cruz-García, Edward L.; Aponte-Bermúdez, Luis D.; College of Engineering; Suárez, Luis E.; Chardón-Maldonado, Patricia; Department of Civil Engineering; Harmsen, Eric W.
    FEMA commissioned a joint effort study after Hurricane Maria (2017) for Puerto Rico to develop Special Wind Region Maps, as specified in ASCE 7-16 wind guidelines. The venture was led by the Strategic Alliance for Risk Reduction. The University of Florida conducted wind tunnel experiments of six regions of the island to quantify wind speed-up effects due to the complex topography. Applied Research Associates, Inc. used the wind tunnel data to develop an empirical methodology to create the current Puerto Rico Building Code 2018 hurricane wind maps valid at 10 m from the ground level. This thesis focuses on validating wind tunnel data using a Computational Fluid Dynamics CFD model, which consisted of steady wind flows blowing from sixteen cardinal directions. Various turbulence models (e.g., RANS, LES) were compared and evaluated to predict speed-up data. Furthermore, CFD modeling enabled us to provide vertical profiles of the wind at any location, resulting in a cost-effective and reliable framework to study complex terrain. The CFD data generated is currently used to fill the original wind tunnel study gaps to develop a machine learning tool to predict wind speed-up vertical profiles over any location in the complex topography.