“Three Little Pigs” Project: Hurricane Risk Mitigation by Integrated Wind Tunnel and Full-Scale Laboratory Tests

Abstract

This paper describes the “Three Little Pigs” Project at the Insurance Research Lab for Better Homes of the University of Western Ontario. The goal of the project is to find optimal solutions for mitigating wind damage to homes, and other light frame structures, in severe wind storms. This will be achieved by using a custom-designed system for testing both full-scale structures and their components. The test method is based on replicating both the temporal and spatial variations of wind-induced pressures on the surfaces of buildings using a system of up to 100 “pressure loading actuators” together with airbags which are attached flexibly to the building surfaces. Test results are reported, which indicate excellent performance of the loading system. The types of full structure and component tests that can be performed are discussed, as well as how such test results will be integrated with computational models accounting for variability in construction and in materials. It is discussed how such results can be used to improve the reliability of prescriptive building codes for residential construction and the optimization of building products for use in high wind regions in order to mitigate wind damage in hurricanes.