Project Grant 2212709

This $303,940 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) will fund collaborative research among Columbia University, Stony Brook University, and City College of New York to develop a science-based approach for understanding and predicting flood-borne debris damage to coastal structures under extreme wind and wave conditions. The research will employ computational fluid dynamics, computational solid mechanics, and laboratory experiments to quantify critical mechanics processes involved in water-wind-debris-structure interactions, including debris drifting, collision with structures, and resulting damages. Specific tasks include innovative smart debris experiments, new computational methods for integrated simulation of debris impacts and damages, and physics-based fragility curves for structural failure risk assessment. An educational component will include workshops and curriculum to positively impact students from high school through graduate levels. Project data will be publicly archived to advance resilient coastline and community design.