Academy for Tech & Classics (1)/Interim Report

Interim Report
http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/get_interim1112.php?team_id=1

Problem Definition
How might one divide a coastal city into areas that are most or least likely to suffer damage from a tsunami, in order to place resources for recovery in advantageous areas? We will also determine how to usefully approximate damage, such as Inundation, or the force exerted on foundation.

Solution
We intend to use the Shallow Water Equations to simulate the effects of a tsunami multiple times, and create a Behavior Space model based on the output. Basic collision and topographical data will be taken into account. This will show us which areas will sustain what level of damage, and synthesize the results into a map overlay. Based upon the data generated by our model, one could place resources for the utmost efficiency for recovery. Various scenarios could be simulated to assess any areas that are commonly affected and will be prioritized for resources. We will utilize the Shallow water equations, modified to take in to account topography, and use GIS data to create realistic models of real-world cities.

Progress to Date
As not all of our team is fluent in Python, we have mostly been focusing on learning the language. Apart from that end, we have started coding the necessary model in Python and decided that components of the model will be digested into smaller sub-components which will be handled separately. Previous work has been done on this subject and we have begun researching into those works.

Next Steps
We will continue to work on our concept as well as digesting the programming tasks down to manageable steps, roughly following an Agile programming philosophy.

Expected Results
We expect to be able to create overlays to be used when placing disaster recovery resources, such that they can be placed in areas that will likely survive the disaster, or where they can be easily accessible to recovery personnel. Specific placement of resources is extraneous to this project.

Eventual Extensions
Later we hope to expand the simulation to include a myriad of disasters like tsunamis, floods, storm surges, landslides, and other natural or artificial water-based disasters.

Introduction
Hi,

My name is Drew. See the biography on my User Page.

Progress
I see substantial progress between your proposal and interim report.

I think you need to give some thought to how tsunami wave and buildings interact. Small buildings not engineered to withstand a tsunami are probably just washed away. But large buildings engineered to withstand a tsunami or hurricane, may well survive and affect the flow of the water.

Mentors
I see Nick is mentoring your project. Nick is an excellent mentor.

Model
A shallow water model is a good choice for this project. Using synthetic and imported gis data with behavior space is a good approach. Python is a good choice of language.

Face to Face Evaluation
Your next milestone is a |face to face evaluation in February.

Rubrics
The judges will use these rubrics to evaluate your projects. Use them as checklists for what you need to communicate to the judges.


 * Expo Judges Rubric
 * Finalist Judges Rubric

Good Luck!!
You have made good progress on a project with a lot of potential.