Student researcher

Dr Mitchell Humphreys Research Leader

This PhD improved the resilience and survivability of buildings to high winds, especially from cyclones and storms. The study conducted controlled full-scale tests as benchmarks for future detailed tests with pressure loading actuators in a simulated environment, and model-scale buildings in a wind tunnel. Additionally, data was gathered from real world examples part of a research team that deploys mobile weather stations in Queensland in the event of a landfalling cyclone.

By calculating the internal pressures for industrial buildings, this research provides an accurate overall net wind load for a wide range of scenarios, enabling a consistent, optimal design for buildings, with the potential to lead to improvements to wind loading codes and standards in cyclonic and non-cyclonic regions around Australia. This study can improve how buildings are designed for such scenarios, increasing the resilience and survivability of buildings to high winds.

Year Type Citation
2019 Journal Article Humphreys, M., Ginger, J. & Henderson, D. Internal pressures in a full-scale test enclosure with windward wall openings. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics 189, (2019).
Wind induces internal pressures in industrial buildings
29 Jun 2017
Internal pressures are generated inside a building during a wind storm from openings in the envelope....
Reducing wind damage to buildings by improving internal pressure design
19 Sep 2018
Destructive winds are inevitable around Australia and the world, thus our buildings must be prepared to...
27 Aug 2019
A broken door or window during a windstorm allows wind to enter the building and push on the roof and walls,...