Ghosh, S; Krishna, S R; Billton, J V; Srikanth, S A; Mohandas, S; Ashwin Ganesh, M and Shiv Kulin, C (2021) Countering tropical cyclonic storm impacts on low-rise houses. Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, 10(4), pp. 631-652. ISSN 2046-6099
Abstract
This study investigates the aerodynamics of the airflow over low-rise houses subjected to turbulent cyclonic winds along the South-eastern peninsular India, routinely afflicted by tropical cyclones. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how the power of modern computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and its engineering application accentuate decision-making at the planning stage of house designing in vulnerable areas. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model was used for first simulating the landfall of cyclone Hudhud, a real storm, and its effect in extant and new house designs. Results from the WRF model were utilized to configure further CFD simulations of airflow around house designs. The analyses yielded deep insights, often non-intuitive, into airflow patterns around these houses with disparate roof forms indicating new possibilities in redesigning houses along Indian coastal areas. This study shows that storm-induced high TKE values warranted a fuller CFD-based study. The second major finding showed that for a 90° angle of attack, arguably the most destructive attack angle, a pitched roof (with a pitch angle of 10°) worked best – this is about half the recommended angle sourced from earlier empirical estimates dating back to the British Raj period. There is a thin layer of padded air cushion shielding the roof's vulnerable surface from the storm's most energetic parts. The originality of this research lies in its discourse to systematically resolve the TKE distribution of a cyclone impacting a standalone house. In particular, the study presents a lucid demonstration of all the probable scenarios connecting cyclonic stresses with a roof response, inferred from a careful combination of results garnered from cyclonic storm modelling coupled with CFD analysis. Additionally, the paper also shows a graphic visual representation of the forces induced on different roof designs, presented as a checklist for the first time. This should serve as a ready reckoner for civic authorities involved in disaster management over cyclone-ravaged areas.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | tropical cyclone; aerodynamics; rooftop designs; weather forecasting; roofing; coastal zone; houses; disaster management; decision making; computational fluid dynamics; building codes; India |
| Index terms: | computational fluid dynamics, aerodynamic, rooftop design, India, roof, airflow pattern, house design, estimate, modelling, disaster management, forecasting, cyclone, shielding, coastal areas, roofing, decision-making, weather, cushion, building code, pitched roof, coastal zone, tropical cyclone |
| Subjects: | financial risk, design process, Geography, safety engineering, architectural elements, design practice, physical geography and landforms, factor and component analysis, environmental hazards, environmental engineering, regulatory law, decision analysis, climate science, air quality, financial and cost management, analytical methods, prediction and forecasting, architectural design, building materials, modelling and simulation |
| Topics: | Digital Applications, Design Practice, Legal Issues, Engineering Principles, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Cost Management, Sustainability, Risk Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here