AngryWaters

Many Earth system processes involving multi-physics, multi-phase conditions extend over several orders of magnitude in length- and time-scales. Engineering science, in pursuit of deeper process understanding and solution-oriented design, has used scaling theories to address scale-afflicted, complex processes through experimental work in laboratory environment at reduced scale. The standard scaling approach, the Buckingham -theorem, is especially deficient when multi-physics and multi-phase processes require the choice of more than a single non-dimensional number, resulting in severe scale effects and typically meaning that accuracies at reduced scale are inadequately quantified. Hence, we choose a demonstrably complex multi-physics, multi-phase process for the investigation of scaling accuracies the progressive collapsing of residential buildings and the associate debris transport, evolving from extreme flow events from natural hazards, such as flash floods or tsunami.

Read More
ANGRYWATERS seeks to achieve a breakthrough in modelling these complex processes by deriving novel scaling laws that will be developed in the framework of the Lie group of point scaling transformations. Scaling requirements will be applied to the combined fluid-structure interaction at various scales, developing sophisticated building specimens; here, we employ 3D-printing and appropriately engineered materials to match the scaling requirements. We conduct a comprehensive experimental campaign, using medium- and large-scale facilities, subjecting the specimens to extreme flow conditions in the form of dam-break waves. We consider sub-assemblages, single and multiple buildings, enhancing the understanding of energy losses and debris production upon collapse, elaborating reduced scale accuracies. High-fidelity numerical modelling will complement our experiments, deepening our process understanding; a depth-averaged model with novel debris advection model crucially enhances predictive capabilities.

Frontier research

AngryWaters will conduct experimental research on residential building collapse at various scales: there is going to be a medium scale with a facility in Braunschweig that allows reduced scale building collapse at approximately 1:10 length scale, and more excitingly, a large scale with a facility in Hannover that will allow testing up to real scale building components such as walls or columns. The extreme flow will be modelled by using a dam-break facility that delivers flows with a flow depth of about 1.5 m, moving at a speed of approximately 6 m/s.

These experiments will provide extremely visible and impressive pictures and scenes for media, provided that the right equipment is available to film and photograph; moreover, there might be extreme events during the residency, i.e., a tsunami, or dam-break, or dike breach around the globe which would become an extra objective for the AngryWaters team to study the effects of such natural hazard onto the built environment.