DOI: 10.17603/ds2-rhhh-8q76
title: Structured Wind-Borne Debris Flight Media Dataset from Large-Scale Experiment at the Wall of Wind
title: in Understanding Near-Surface Wind Characteristics from Wind-borne Debris Flight Media

description: This experiment focused on understanding the flight behavior of wind-borne debris under controlled high-velocity wind conditions. Debris objects, including plate-type (e.g., shingles, OSB panels), rod-type (e.g., dowel rods, lumber), and compact debris (e.g., spheres, gravel), were loaded into eight chambers on the roof of the base building (i.e., the debris source). These debris objects were strategically released into the flow field using electromagnets activated at different wind speeds and building orientations. Arrays of cameras, set at different frame rates and resolutions, captured both wide-angle and detailed views of the debris flights. A total of 37 tests were conducted, with each test representing a unique launch of approximately 30 debris objects into the flow. The dataset generated from these tests consists of rich visual recordings of debris flight trajectories. Combined with the known background wind conditions from the flow characterization (first experiment), this dataset provides a valuable resource for understanding how different debris types behave in extreme wind events, offering insights that can inform improvements to wind design codes and standards. The dataset is reusable for validating debris flight models, advancing aerodynamic studies, and enhancing wind engineering designs.
description: This project generated a structured debris flight media dataset from two complementary large-scale experiments conducted at the Wall of Wind shared-use facility at Florida International University. The experiments were designed to capture debris flight media under high-velocity wind conditions, representative of the size and types of debris objects observed during field investigations after extreme windstorms, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and thunderstorms, contributing to a deeper understanding of near-surface wind dynamics. The experimental setup consisted of a base building positioned on a turntable in front of the facility's flow management system. The roof section of the base building contained chambers housing the debris objects, which were released into the flow field. The research project was structured into two experiments. In the first, the flow field was characterized to determine the background wind conditions under various stream flow scenarios. In the second, a variety of debris objects placed in the roof section of the base building were released into the wind flow using a controlled technique, ensuring effective dispersion into the flow field. Cameras with varying resolutions and frame rates were strategically positioned within the flow field to capture the trajectories of debris released from the roof of the building. The camera array recorded the debris flight paths, producing a high-quality visual record of debris behavior under controlled conditions. Two datasets, comprising the background flow characterization and the debris flight data, are provided to enhance our understanding of wind-borne debris flights and improve insights into non-synoptic wind events, such as tornadoes. These datasets can be reused by researchers and engineers to validate debris flight models, advance aerodynamic studies, and improve wind design codes and standards.