WindWise is a new webinar series launched by the American Association for Wind Engineering (AAWE) to foster engaging, forward-looking discussions within the wind engineering community. Designed as more than a traditional lecture format, WindWise brings together leading researchers and practitioners for interactive technical dialogues on emerging topics, unresolved challenges, and future directions in the field.
Each session features invited speakers presenting recent advances and perspectives, followed by a moderated panel discussion with experts that encourages exchange of ideas and audience engagement. By creating space for both depth and dialogue, WindWise aims to strengthen connections across academia and practice while highlighting the evolving landscape of wind engineering.
The inaugural WindWise session is scheduled for May 5th at 1:00 PM EST. Additional information regarding registration and meeting details will be shared with the community in the coming week.
Bluff Body Aerodynamics: from fundamentals to new research frontiers
Which Eddies Matter—and Why: Baseline Instabilities, Receptivity, and Strong Loading
You are invited to a Zoom meeting:
When: May 5, 2026 at 01:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Instructions: registration is required to attend the WindWise event. Please register in advance
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Speakers:
Abstract: Wind engineering often groups small-scale turbulence–body interaction effects under broad labels such as “building-generated turbulence” or “small scales.” In parallel, inflow turbulence is commonly reduced to integral descriptors that can mask the scale-dependent spectral content that couples to separated-flow dynamics. A more nuanced interpretation framework is proposed: pressure-relevant frequency content is selected by the intrinsic instability modes of the baseline separated flow (the flow that exists without free-stream turbulence). Eddies matter insofar as their spectral content overlaps the receptive bands of these inherent dynamics, which can excite, suppress, or distort the instability-driven organization of the separated-flow regions that set the loading.
Square prisms, the 5:1 rectangular cylinder (BARC), and a low-rise building geometry (TTU) are used to bridge fundamental and applied settings, with emphasis on flow physics close to separation. The family of instability modes in the canonical separation bubble provides an organizing example, including Kelvin–Helmholtz shear-layer instability, the shedding mode, and low-frequency flapping motion. Melbourne’s S-parameter provides an early precedent for connecting inflow spectral content to a specific separated-flow structure; the present receptivity framework extends that motivation into a broader, mode-based explanation for why a restricted portion of the inflow spectrum controls fluctuating and peak loads.
Implications are discussed for emerging testing methods such as partial turbulence simulation (PTS), with the goal of expanding wind-tunnel capability and improving load predictions for cladding and other small-scale components.
Learning outcomes:
1. Explain what “which eddies matter” means: not all turbulence affects loading the same way.
2. Identify the modes of separated flows: e.g., KH instability, shedding, flapping of a separation bubble.
3. Connect turbulence scale to loading: eddies matter when their frequencies overlap what the baseline flow is receptive to, affecting loads.
4. Apply to testing: use this idea to think about what methods like PTS should reproduce to improve cladding/small-component load predictions.