Framework for Modeling Interdependent Effects in Natural Disasters: Application to Wind Engineering

Abstract

Modeling the various aspects of a disaster scenario and the interactions that occur between them is necessary to create a meaningful and high-fidelity simulation of the event. Using a publish-subscribe pattern for data management, a platform based on distributed simulation concepts is developed to address this challenge. The platform is designed to enable disparate models to interact together within the modeling environment. Each model, or simulator, represents one part of a disaster scenario and is viewed as a black box that subscribes to data from other simulators and/or publishes its results for other simulators to use. The framework is versatile and scalable and, as such, enables the developed system to grow through addition of simulators provided by other users. The new concepts are demonstrated through a case study of wind-induced progressive damage due to both the structural response of a building and external wind pressures. The potential of the framework for modeling community resilience is discussed.