NWI faculty affiliates attend US-Japan Workshop

On May 12-14, 2016, NWI's Drs. Daan Liang, Xinzhong Chen, and Delong Zuo participated in the sixth U.S.-Japan   Workshop on Wind Engineering at the University of Tokyo in Japan. With the theme of "Windstorm Hazard Reduction of Critical Infrastructure," the major objectives of the workshop were to report ongoing research and practice, to  identify new challenges in the reduction of severe wind storm disasters (which both the U.S. and Japan have experienced in recent years), and to develop and implement strategic planning that will benefit both countries.

As three members of the 17-member U.S. delegate, the professors presented some of the most recent advancements in wind hazard-related research at NWI: Dr. Chen presented his work on the buffeting response of long-span bridges  to non-stationary winds; Dr. Liang presented the recent progress of his work on impact performance of above-ground non-complying shelter doors, and Dr. Zuo presented a new methodology he and his student have developed for the modeling and simulation of non-stationary winds. These presentations contributed to the enhancement of NWI's presence in the community of wind hazard mitigation in both US and Japan, and by interacting with other workshop participants, NWI faculty were able to explore possible opportunities for future collaborations with other attendees.

The professors also participated in a technical tour that featured visits to the Honjo Life Safety Learning Center and the Tokyo Skytree (the tallest tower in the world at 614 m) in Tokyo.. At the Life Safety Learning Center, the workshop attendees experienced simulated wind, earthquake, and fire hazards, and then learned about the actions to take in the events of these hazards while at the Tokyo Skytree, the chief designer of the tower introduced the philosophy and methodologies used in the wind and earthquake resistant design of the tower through both a presentation and an expressly arranged visit to the core of the tower to witness structural details. Both visits were invaluable to the NWI professors as they were able to experience first hand how the research in hazard mitigation is applied in real life.