Giant ‘Wall of Wind’ can simulate Category 5 hurricane
A 15ft tall hurricane simulator has been established at Florida International University (FIU) that is capable of generating winds up to 157mph.
Dubbed the 'Wall of Wind', or WOW for short, the giant infrastructure consists of 12 electric fan-motors, each 6ft in diameter, which are used to test the integrity of building designs and materials.
The facility is said to be the largest and most powerful of its kind and is capable of simulating a Category 5 hurricane – the highest rating on the Saffir-Simspon Hurricane Wind Scale.
"This facility will not only fill the void where most current wind-structure experiments fail, it has the potential to be as influential to wind engineering as crash testing was to the automobile industry," claims FIU. "The Wall of Wind will revolutionise our building construction and retrofitting practices."
