Model coupling for building resilience optimization in climate-driven hail and heavy rain events

• Applicants: Professor Dr.-Ing. Hans Christian Jünger; Professor Dr.-Ing. Matthias Kraus
• Subject Area: Structural Engineering, Building Informatics and Construction Operation
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 543883776

In recent decades, a significant increase in the number of hailstorms has been observed, which poses a growing threat to buildings. Climate forecasts also show an increase in combined hail and heavy rain events in the future. Studies of climate research and investigations of the federal government indicate a high damage potential risk for existing buildings. The available methods for such climatic impacts, which allow the quantification of risks and thus decision-making processes to increase the resilience of endangered structural elements from a structural as well as an economic point of view, are currently insufficient. In the absence of a methodological approach, it is not possible to propose engineering solutions to counteract the vulnerability of buildings from hail and heavy rain events. Thus, engineering adaptions for building structures cannot be evaluated or implemented in a targeted nor sustainable manner. With the aim of developing such a methodology to support technical and economic decision-making processes, methods of extreme value statistics, probabilistics and economic analysis are processed, further developed and coupled with regard to the present problem of combined hail and heavy rain events. Considering the influences of climate change, a methodology for the holistic reliability-based assessment of structural elements is to be provided, which enables the derivation of component-specific strategies for improving resilience and thereby incorporates damage mechanisms as well as possible retrofitting options including their economic efficiency on the basis of risk analyses. Thus, this study will contribute in closing the research gap of the lack of a systemized risk assessment methodology for structural elements. The methodology will offer a constructive and economic evaluation of a building structure, and propose a sustainable approach to increase its resilience against climate change.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants