Wall of Wind' Creates Hurricane-Force Winds to Test Construction

Civil Engineer Arindam Chowdhury and his team at Florida International University and the International Hurricane Research Center recreate monster hurricane force winds in hopes of helping us better prepare for the real thing. With support from the National Science Foundation, Chowdhury's team designed a 15-foot tall 'Wall of Wind,' aptly nicknamed WOW. The wall is made up of 12 giant fans, which can create the intensity of a Category 5 hurricane with 157 mile-an-hour winds if they are running at full blast. The goal is to see if low rise structures, building materials, and solar panels can withstand the same wind forces they would face in a full-blown hurricane.

Transcript

00:00:08 MILES O'BRIEN: A category five hurricane is a monster of a storm. These twelve giant fans can create the intensity of a Cat5 hurricane, with 157 mile an hour winds pummeling roof tiles and solar panels. ARINDAM CHOWDHURY: When we have twelve of them running together at the full speed, we have 8,400 horsepower. MILES O'BRIEN: With support from the National Science Foundation, civil engineer, Arindam Chowdhury and his team at Florida International University and the International Hurricane Research Center, designed this fifteen-foot tall wall of wind,

00:00:45 nicknamed, "WOW." MAN 1: I'm going to go up now to sixty miles an hour. MILES O'BRIEN: The goal is to see if low-rise structures and building materials can withstand the same wind forces they'd face in a full-blown hurricane. ARINDAM CHOWDHURY: We did testing on rooftop equipment and we looked at the loads and based on the results, we send recommendations to the Florida Building Code and those recommendations are now in the Florida Building Code. MILES O'BRIEN: Manufacturers work with Chowdhury to test the

00:01:11 durability of new products. For example, they want to see if this solar panel will stand up to hurricane force winds. Sensors measure the pressure on the panel as the wind starts to blow. ROB KORNAHRENS: We want to make sure everything stays within the frame. That the whole unit stays on the racking itself. MAN 2: What wind speed? MAN 1: It's about 120. MAN 2: Can we flip it around though? MILES O'BRIEN: A rotating turntable exposes all

00:01:35 sides to headwinds. ARINDAM CHOWDHURY: Now we can see effects from different angles of the wind and get the data from all directions. ROB KORNAHRENS: I don't think we're going to see any damage to the panel based on what I saw. It's great. You couldn't get this in any other type of test. MILES O'BRIEN: Next stop, some roof tiles and adhesive foam. MAN 3: It's solid as a rock, the way it's installed. That foam really works with this good tile. MILES O'BRIEN: Will they withstand WOW's forces?

00:02:03 ARINDAM CHOWDHURY: Right now we're testing 122 miles per hour. MILES O'BRIEN: The tiles and foam pass with flying colors. The building itself, not so much. Chowdhury says such foundation failures are rare. But lessons learned here could save lives, helping us better prepare for that next big storm. Now that's a WOW. For Science Nation, I'm Miles O'Brien.