Principal AeroStructural & Wind Engineering Workbench

An automated CFD/FSI evaluation pipeline computing transient wind profiles, surface pressure distribution, aeroelastic resonance, and pedestrian comfort.

By : SAMUELSON G

Overview

The AeroStructural & Wind Engineering Workbench is a lightweight, browser-based 3D simulation dashboard built with Three.js. It bridges 3D architectural geometry with simulated multiphysics solvers to provide interactive, real-time evaluations of high-rise building performance under varying wind loads.

🚀 Features

Multiphysics Solvers

• CFD Streamlines & Vortex Shedding: Visualizes wind flow and Kármán vortex streets using an advanced particle advection system.

• Facade Pressure ($C_p$) Contour: Maps aerodynamic pressure distribution across the building's shell.

• Lawson Pedestrian Comfort Map: Generates a heat map at the ground level to evaluate wind jetting and wake regions for pedestrian safety.

• FSI Dynamic Structural Sway: Simulates wind-induced harmonic sway and resonance based on structural kinematics.

Real-Time Analytical Telemetry

Adjust the Inlet Wind Velocity ($U_{\infty}$) slider (from 5 to 60 m/s) to instantly calculate and visualize:

• Base Shear ($V_b$) and Overturning Moment ($M_o$).

• Shedding Frequency ($f_s$) versus the building's Natural Frequency ($f_n$).

• Max Sway ($\Delta_{max}$) and VIV Aeroelastic Risk (Safe, Buffeting, or Lock-in Risk).

• An analytical deflection chart mapping $\Delta(z)$.

Architectural Rendering Modes

• Solid Shell: High-fidelity architectural glass rendering with realistic lighting and bloom.

• Wireframe: Edge-geometry visualization.

• X-Ray Core: Transparent outer shell revealing the internal structural core.

🛠️ Technologies Used

• HTML5 / CSS3 / JavaScript (ES6 Modules)

• Three.js (v0.160.0): WebGL rendering, OrbitControls, BufferGeometry utilities, and Post-Processing (EffectComposer, UnrealBloomPass).

• HTML5 Canvas API: Custom 2D analytical charting.

⚙️ Installation & Usage

This project requires no build steps or backend servers.

1. Clone this repository to your local machine.

2. Open the index.html file directly in any modern web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari).

3. Use your mouse/trackpad to orbit, pan, and zoom around the 3D model.

4. Toggle the UI using the eye icon or the H hotkey.

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📌 Conclusion

The AeroStructural & Wind Engineering Workbench successfully implements a real-time, browser-based simulation and visualization pipeline using the Three.js library. It effectively bridges 3D architectural geometry with simulated multiphysics solvers, offering an interactive dashboard to evaluate high-rise building performance. By providing visual and analytical approximations of CFD streamlines, facade pressure contours ($C_p$), pedestrian wind comfort maps, and FSI structural sway, the application acts as an excellent conceptual tool for initial architectural evaluations. Furthermore, its ability to instantly compute and display critical telemetry—such as base shear ($V_b$), overturning moment ($M_o$), and vortex-induced vibration (VIV) risk based on an adjustable inlet wind velocity ($U_{\infty}$)—demonstrates a strong foundation for rapid structural prototyping.

🔮 Future Enhancements

While the current codebase provides a highly responsive and visually impressive dashboard, the following enhancements would elevate it from a conceptual visualization tool to a rigorous engineering utility:

• Integration with True Numerical Solvers: Currently, the CFD particle advection, harmonic shedding, and FSI structural sway are driven by heuristic mathematical formulas (e.g., trigonometric approximations and basic randomized kinematics) directly in the client-side JavaScript. Connecting the front-end to a backend physics engine (such as OpenFOAM for CFD or a Finite Element Analysis solver for structures) via WebSockets would provide physically accurate, verified data.

• Dynamic CAD File Import: The building's geometry is currently hardcoded using grouped THREE.BoxGeometry tiers. Implementing a file loader to parse standard architectural formats (such as glTF, OBJ, or IFC) would allow users to upload and evaluate custom structural models.

• Contextual Urban Topography: Wind behavior heavily depends on surrounding obstacles. Allowing users to import surrounding terrain and neighboring buildings would significantly improve the accuracy of the aerodynamic risk and the generated Lawson Pedestrian Comfort Map.

• Data Export and Reporting Capabilities: While the telemetry grid updates real-time analytics like shedding frequency ($f_s$) and max sway ($\Delta_{max}$), adding a feature to export these time-series values into CSV files or generate a PDF summary report would greatly benefit engineering workflows.

• Advanced Wind Profiles: The current application utilizes a single target wind speed ($U_{\infty}$) interpolated uniformly. Implementing logarithmic or power-law atmospheric boundary layer wind profiles would better simulate how actual wind speeds increase with altitude against a skyscraper.

• Expanded Deflection Telemetry: The analytical canvas currently plots an instantaneous quadratic beam curve for deflection. Upgrading this to record and visualize a continuous time-history graph of structural displacements against gusting wind loads would provide deeper insights into dynamic material fatigue.

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Disclaimer: This tool utilizes mathematical approximations for real-time browser rendering and is intended for conceptual prototyping and visualization purposes only. It does not replace rigorous, codified finite element or computational fluid dynamics analysis.