Wind engineer Pedro Fernández-Cabán conducts experiments at the NHERI University of Florida wind tunnel, trying to discover how to prevent roof failure in low-rise buildings during hurricanes. In this episode he describes how he uses a special component of the UF wind tunnel that creates large and long-lasting wind gusts: the Flow Field Modulator.

See it in action: a cell from the Flow Field Modulator. Hold your ears! https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ErHtAUU8Wns

Pedro Fernández-Cabán also describes specific ways roofs can be altered to redirect wind flow and reduce suction pressure – and roof damage. Parapets, for instance. Another goal for his project: use the UF Flow Field Modulator to develop a roadmap for wind conditions, revealing how different locations are subject to specific sorts of damaging wind fields – and to provide mitigation advice to builders and homeowners based on that roadmap.

Fernández-Cabán on Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=nzBOhdoAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

Subscribe to the DesignSafe Radio audio podcast! Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/designsafe-radio/id1267927535 Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/designsafe-radio

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2Vn6sM7YP28aYgVUqjV5Vu