Effect of Extreme Wind Loads on Struc  

Today my partner and I practiced for our presentation that is to be given on 07/27/12 (friday). So far

everything is going as planed, then the REU experience will be officially over at UTA in

Arlington, Tx.

Today we got the oppertunity to print our posters for the upcoming final presentation. The only

thing left to do is to run through the glitches in our PowerPoint presentations.

Today we had a class with Dr. Yasdani. He basically gave a presentation on wood trusses. We

were told the positives and negatives of wooden members and how overall effective it was when

building structures

Today I was interviewed by Dr. Stephanie Lynn Daza who is an assistant professor. She had

basically asked me about what I have accomplished so far in the program. I was also asked if my

expectations were being met, wich they are, and how will I progress after this REU.

Today we were able to record trusses and find its measurements usind the computer program

RISA. We were also given permission to use the computer lab when possible to practice.

Today the REU group was presented with the positives of continuing Graduate Studies and

studying towards a Ph.D. there were a number of guest that talked about the University and the

student chapters that cater towards the student’s needs. There was also a round table meeting with

graduate students and publications presentations by Dr. Anand Puppala who is the dean for

Research in the College of Engineering.

I learnt a new topic in lecture today. It was better than I expected and it was about Statics

and dynamics . I learnt that you can find the wind pressure acting on a particular building by

using the standards found in the ASCE manual. I also found out that there are three main

methods of building: ASD, USD and LRFD.

Today we saw the effects if the stress and bending of a reenforced column and wood at the civil

engineering lab. This process was done to the ASCE standard. We also saw different projects

involving structure strength using excess pressure to the max.

Todays topic was about structures and its support system against cerain wind pressures in a specific region.

Trusses-

A framework, typically consisting of rafters, posts, and struts, supporting a roof, bridge, or other structure.

I also learnt that before building a structure, based on the special wind regions the usage of regional climatic data and the consultation with a wind engineers and meterologists is always advised as it is there area of expertise.

The words Stress and Strain were repetedly said durind the lecture as it was a basis of wind wind effects. basically,strain is the representation of deformation while stress is the amount of pressure placed upon a structure or object until the energy exerted is grater that the object, for example, a balloon vs a 1lb barbell.

5 Major Types of Civil Engineeing:

-Structural

-Geotechnical

-Transportation

-Environmental

-Water Source

Today we were told the main loads that a building or structure is comprised of:

Dead load- fixed objects for example, Clock, painting etc.

Live load- mainly humans or objects that are moved often for example, office chair.

There are also methods of calculating wind load:

• Method 1-Simplified Procedure that are for low rise structures <60ft

• Method 2-Analytical Procedure for any building >60ft

• Method 3-Wind Tunnel Procedure

The presentation given also gave an insight of the types of buildings there are such as:

• Enclosed

• Partially enclosed (20-30%)

• Open (80%)

Buildings are placed into four catigories namely: I, II, III, and IV.

Category IV is the most important as it includes places of importance such as Hospitals , Fire Stations etc.