Dr. Prevatt was recently awarded a research grant by the National Science Foundation, coomencing in July 2008. The project, titled Performance Based Wind Engineering: Interaction of Hurricanes with Residential Structures. The objective of this research project is to establish the relationship between spatially varying wind loads and structural load paths in wood-framed buildings. Through a combination of analysis of existing wind tunnel data, applying database-assisted design methodology and experimental tests on a 1/3-scale model of a wood-framed residential structure, structural influence surfaces will be developed and used to predict the load time-history on roof truss-to-wall plate connections.

The research is expected to improve the design methods for the wood frame buildings through the use of the performance-based design approach. The broader impacts will be achieved through educational and technology transfer efforts. Research results will be disseminated through the ASCE/SEI committees in which the PI is involved. The research at UF is stimulated further research collaborations with Dr. John van de Lindt at Colorado State University and Dr. Rakesh Gupta at Oregon State University. Long-term goals are to improve structural design of wood-framed residential construction through analytical and experimental studies of the wind uplift structural load paths

Recruitment efforts focused on students from underrepresented groups and undergraduate research experiences will be coordinated with existing multicultural affairs programs. Graduate student education, mentorship and training will be done using formative and summative assessment methods and through collaboration among the students and the PI. Research assistantships are available for well-qualified Ph.D. students in structural engineering. Contact me to discuss future opportunities at dprev@ce.ufl.edu

The House Committee on Science and Technology, Subcommittee on Energy and Environment and Subcommittee on Research & Science Education invited Dr. David O. Prevatt to testify at a joint hearing on The State of Hurricane Research and R.R. 2407, The National Hurricane Research Initiatives Act of 2007. The hearing was held at Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC on 26 June 2008.

One of the major concerns mentioned in Dr. Prevatt’s testimony was the need for experimental testing to understand the impact of dynamic wind and storm surge loads on structures. Dr. Prevatt stated the following:

Current codes (except for perhaps earthquake effects) do not adequately incorporate dynamic loading (e.g., wind, vessel impact, surge, waves) for foundation/soil interaction or foundation/water interaction for cyclic or surge loading. We have the system characterization capabilities, and the mechanics/computational abilities to account for dynamics, but we sorely lack experimental research to calibrate and validate our analysis systems, particularly at full-scale.

There is need for full scale experimentation to capture the effects of dynamic wind / rain / surge loads on the infrastructure, which as of today is poorly incorporated in building codes. Current practice focuses on the performance of individual components in isolation, but the most often observed failures are a result of interaction among multiple components (system response). We sorely lack research to evaluate system performance issues via full-scale experiment.

High priority research needs should address the retrofitting of existing structures. Retrofitting of critical infrastructure in hurricane prone regions is urgently needed to protect the public and life-line services. 90% of existing residential homes were built before building code improvement modifications that occurred after Hurricane Andrew. As with earthquake prone regions, retrofitting of existing structures will result in lower damage and fewer lives lost. This, combined with a tightening of the existing building codes, should be a substantial emphasis.

The full testimony can be read here, and the full transcripts of the proceedings can be found at the Subcommittee website, H.R. 2407.

During their October 2006 meeting, the Board of Directors of the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying took a lunch break to tour Clemson University’s Wind Load Test Facility. The tour, hosted by facility Director, Dr. David O. Prevatt and his graduate students provided the guests with an overview of the boundary layer wind tunnel and its operation and the ongoing research in analyis of full-scale wind pressure data of the Florida Coastal Monitoring Program and a SC Sea Grant Consortium sponsored project to develop influence functions for wind uplift loads on light-framed wood residential roof structures.

Dr. Prevatt and his graduate students Mr. Bo Cui,EIT Mr. Peter Datin EIT and Ms. Lori Koch were pleased to commence the tour by sharing with their guests, Clemson’s world-famous Peach ice-cream made right here on campus. Clemson faculty and students were particularly honored to spend time with this illustrious group of professional engineers. Click here to view photos of the tour

The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) is a national non-profit organization composed of engineering and surveying licensing boards representing all U.S. states and territories. The Vision of the NCEES is to provide leadership in professional licensure of engineers and land surveyors through excellence in uniform laws, licensing standards, and professional ethics for the protection of the public health, safety and welfare, and to shape the future of professional licensure.

Dr. David O. Prevatt will be sharing his research at the 3rd Faculty Forum of Clemson University’s Restoration Institute on Wednesday, November 8th, 12-1, in the Daniel Hall Class of 1941 Studio. To attend, please contact joshlee@clemson.edu. Space is limited to the first 25 respondents.

The Faculty Forums are intended to be a platform for learning and idea exchange that feature the work of one of CURI’s affiliated faculty on a monthly basis. The emphasis of these meetings is placed on how faculty research is related to others within the University and to provide sucessful examples of current interdisciplinary research. The format will be informal and a deli-style lunch will be provided.

For those not on campus, you may participate virtually at http://breeze.clemson.edu/restoration/. You will need to make sure you have the proper system requirements. When you log on as a guest, please enter your name so we know who is attending. Also, you should be able to ask questions of the presenter in the “chat” box under the webcam. An archived view of this presentation can be found at 11/8/06 - Prevatt presentation.

The vastness of the devastation at Ground Zero remains burned in Clemson University structural engineer David Prevatt’s mind five years after the World Trade Center towers fell. It is one of the memories that I recall and try to convey to my graduate civil engineering students during my fall 2006 forensic engineering class. In 2001, I worked with a a national design and consulting firm, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc., in their Boston office. Like so many engineering firms, the firm provided several structural engineers to provide structural engineering assistance in the days immediately after 9/11. A two-man engineer team was sent from SGH to conduct a rapid structural assessment of a 40-story building, located to the south of the South WTC tower, about one month after 9/11. The building suffered significant damage from the 7th through 20th floor. Story details covered in the local media on the 5th anniversary of the 9/11 events. See the Greenville News story.

Through sponsorship of by the Florida Department of Community Affairs through Florida International University, two Clemson Univeristy professors, Dr. David O. Prevatt in civil engineering and Dr. Stanley T. Birchfield in electrical and computer engineering collaborated this summer to develop a prototype wind pressure visualization software program

The software program is described in further detail under student projects link.

Hurricane Preparedness in the Grand Strand
Disaster Prevention and Prediction Hearing
Wednesday, August 10 2005 - 9:00 AM - Springmaid Beach Resort, Myrtle Beach, SC

Dr. David O. Prevatt, Director of the Wind Load Test Facility, Clemson University, presented testimony to the Senate Commerce Committee’ Subcommittee on Disaster Prevention and Prediction at a field hearing in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Links to the full text of this testimony is provided below

Testimony to the Senate Subcommittee on Disaster Prevention and Prediction.

“If in fact you’re telling me that builders have been building these (structures) without wind provisions being enforced by the building community, I would be very skeptical of the ability of residential areas to survive if they actually did have a design event,” said David Prevatt, an engineering professor at Clemson University’s Wind Load Test Facility, commenting on enforcement of building code provisions in Mobile, AL.

7 August 2005 news story

On the Damage to Grenada’s Hospitals and Critical Facilities from Hurricane Emily
David O.Prevatt, Ph.D., PE
14 July 2005

We’ve seen the headlines before. We have sat in workshops and proposed ways to address the problems. The risks will not go away any time soon. Given the chance to do something and the committed leadership, we can improve our buildings’ performance and sustainability to reduce the hurricane-related losses to society. It is shame that given the knowledge we have accumulated over the past 40 years of wind engineering research about the structure of the wind and its interaction with buildings, that once again in 2005 the roofs of hospitals and police stations in Carriacou and Grenada are lost due to the impact of small to moderate wind events (see attached AP story)….. more

10 July 2005 - Real-time Wind Speed Data from Hurricane. Hurricane Dennis is heading towards the Pensacola area in Florida. As the residents evacuate to safe locations away from the coast, the Florida Coastal Monitoring Program researchers and students are busy setting up wind towers and installing pressure sensors on houses in advance of the landfall of Dennis