TY - GEN
T1 - Reality Capture for Tornado Damage to Structures
AU - Womble, J. Arn
AU - Wood, Richard L.
AU - Smith, Douglas A.
AU - Louden, Elizabeth I.
AU - Mohammadi, M. Ebrahim
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© ASCE.
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Wind speeds and velocity structures in tornadoes are largely unknown, since direct measurements are difficult and rare. Structural engineers, atmospheric scientists, and catastrophe modelers must therefore utilize "proxy" methods (such as the estimation of structural resistances that have been exceeded) to better assess tornado and other windstorm risks to achieve safe yet economical designs. Damage to simple engineered structures is of particular interest, since the resistance of such structures can often be readily estimated. Such determination requires accurate measurement of structural member sizes, which can be prohibitive due to time, site access, and safety issues. A late-2015 intense tornado outbreak severely damaged a group of engineered structures at an industrial facility near Pampa, TX. This facility contained multiple engineered structures for which structural resistances could be estimated, thereby enabling the estimation of tornado wind speeds required to cause the observed damage. Due to safety and security liability concerns, facility owners restricted access to the site. Investigators were, however, permitted to acquire remote-sensing data to preserve the damage scene for subsequent detailed analysis. Ground-based LiDAR scanning and terrestrial digital imaging from the property line as well as aerial and satellite imaging provided effective solutions for rapidly, safely, and accurately preserving the damage scene. The multi-platform data collection has facilitated and evaluation of remote-sensing platforms for their utility in rapidly capturing and preserving damage scenes via 3D models and visualization.
AB - Wind speeds and velocity structures in tornadoes are largely unknown, since direct measurements are difficult and rare. Structural engineers, atmospheric scientists, and catastrophe modelers must therefore utilize "proxy" methods (such as the estimation of structural resistances that have been exceeded) to better assess tornado and other windstorm risks to achieve safe yet economical designs. Damage to simple engineered structures is of particular interest, since the resistance of such structures can often be readily estimated. Such determination requires accurate measurement of structural member sizes, which can be prohibitive due to time, site access, and safety issues. A late-2015 intense tornado outbreak severely damaged a group of engineered structures at an industrial facility near Pampa, TX. This facility contained multiple engineered structures for which structural resistances could be estimated, thereby enabling the estimation of tornado wind speeds required to cause the observed damage. Due to safety and security liability concerns, facility owners restricted access to the site. Investigators were, however, permitted to acquire remote-sensing data to preserve the damage scene for subsequent detailed analysis. Ground-based LiDAR scanning and terrestrial digital imaging from the property line as well as aerial and satellite imaging provided effective solutions for rapidly, safely, and accurately preserving the damage scene. The multi-platform data collection has facilitated and evaluation of remote-sensing platforms for their utility in rapidly capturing and preserving damage scenes via 3D models and visualization.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85019694447&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1061/9780784480427.012
DO - 10.1061/9780784480427.012
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85019694447
T3 - Structures Congress 2017: Business, Professional Practice, Education, Research, and Disaster Management - Selected Papers from the Structures Congress 2017
SP - 134
EP - 144
BT - Structures Congress 2017
A2 - Soules, J. Greg
PB - American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
T2 - Structures Congress 2017
Y2 - 6 April 2017 through 8 April 2017
ER -