Large-eddy simulations for Design of a National Full-scale Testing Infrastructure for Community Hardening in Extreme Wind, Surge, and Wave Events (NICHE)
Motivation and Objectives
This project pertains to the design of a Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure (MsRI), namely the National Full-Scale Testing Infrastructure for Community Hardening in Extreme Wind, Surge, and Wave Events (NICHE). The objective of NICHE is to reduce the vulnerability of communities to climate-driven hazards through the study of full-scale low-rise structures and large-scale community models under extreme wind, storm surge, and wave conditions.
Methods
NICHE will be designed using an integrated design testbed (IDT), which will provide proof-of-concept for the MsRI’s novel capabilities to simulate coupled wind-surge-wave effects and inform the final design blueprint of NICHE. Initial analysis will focus on High-fidelity simulations under wind-only and wave-only conditions, investigating Reynolds and Froude number scaling effects. These results will inform subsequent simulations in coupled wind, surge, and wave flows, such that an informed decision on the required scale of the physical experimentation component of the IDT can be made.
