Dr Mitchell Humphreys’ PhD improved the resilience and survivability of buildings to high winds, especially from cyclones and storms. He conducted controlled full-scale tests as benchmarks for future detailed tests with pressure loading actuators in a simulated environment, and model-scale buildings in a wind tunnel. Additionally, Mitchell gathered data from real world examples part of a research team that deploys mobile weather stations in Queensland in the event of a landfalling cyclone.
By calculating the internal pressures for industrial buildings, Mitchell’s research provides an accurate overall net wind load for a wide range of scenarios, enabling a consistent, optimal design for buildings, with the potential to lead to improvements to wind loading codes and standards in cyclonic and non-cyclonic regions around Australia. Mitchell’s study can improve how buildings are designed for such scenarios, increasing the resilience and survivability of buildings to high winds.
He presented his research findings as a Three Minute Thesis at the CRC Research Advisory Forum in 2018 and has had his research published in the Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics. Since completing his PhD, Mitchell has been working as a structural engineer at GHD.
Student project
