CEE Guest Lecture: Giovanni Solari

Event Date: Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Giovanni Solari, PhD

Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering

Polytechnic School, University of Genova, Italy

will present a lecture entitled 

THUNDERR: an ERC Project for the

“detection, simulation, modelling and loading of thunderstorm outflows to design wind-safer and cost-efficient structures”

Abstract

Wind actions are crucial for the safety and cost of structures. The wind climate of Europe and many parts of the world is dominated by synoptic extra-tropical cyclones and mesoscale thunderstorm outflows. Thunderstorms are frequent events causing wind speeds often higher than cyclones.

Despite an impressive amount of research, there is not yet a model of thunderstorm outflows and their actions on structures like that of cyclones. Thus, thunderstorm loading is still determined by the cyclone model developed half a century ago. This happens because its complexity makes it difficult to develop realistic and easy models. Its short duration and small size makes available data poor. There is a great gap between research in wind engineering and atmospheric sciences.

The realization of an extensive wind monitoring network during two previous European Projects, a large project team with interdisciplinary skill in wind engineering and atmospheric sciences, the objective of creating a worldwide co-operation around a new project robustly supported by the European Research Council (ERC) are unique conditions to overcome these shortcomings.

THUNDERR is an acronym of THUNDERstorm that points out the Roar with which this project aims to detect thunderstorms, create a downburst dataset, interpret weather scenarios, conduct wind tunnel and CFD simulations, set a thunderstorm model physically correct and transferable to design and standards, modify the existing wind loading format, design safer and cost-efficient structures.

Biography

Giovanni Solari is Professor of Structural and Wind Engineering and Director of the Wind Tunnel Laboratory at the University of Genoa. He is Senior Adviser at the Beijing Jiaotong University, Adjunct Professor at the Universities of Western Ontario, Canada and de la Republica, Uruguay, Honorary Professor at the Shijiazhuang Tiedao University, China, Honorary Doctor Honoris Causa  at the Technical University of Civil Engineering, Bucharest.

He was the recipient of the Scanlan Medal 2017 (EMI), Reese Prize 2014 (ASCE), Flachsbart Medal 2013 (WTG), Davenport Medal 2011 (IAWE), Cermak Medal 2006 (ASCE). He was President of the International (2003-2007) and Italian (1999-2003) Association for Wind Engineering, Founding Co-Editor of Wind & Structures (1997-2005), Editor of Springer Tracts in Civil Engineering (2016-).

He is member of the Liguria Academy of Science and Letters, Fellow of EMI-ASCE, Editorial Board Member of international journals and Scientific Board Member of research institutions. He is author of almost 150 papers in peer-reviewed journals.

CEE Guest Lecture: Giovanni Solari