Introduction
Beyond the obvious devastation to this home destroyed by Hurricane Ike on Sept. 15 in Port Bolivar, Texas, new research simulating hurricane-force pressure suggests that homes can still suffer catastrophic structural failures — even if the roof appears intact.
— Bryn Nelson"; Tech_Frontiers_HurricaneProofing080915[i++] = new Array("","'Three Little Pigs'","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo/_new/080922-Hurricane-1-hmed.hmedium.jpg","","Image: brick house", "", "", "", "", "", "", "Photo courtesy of Western Ontario University", "273", "364", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); Tech_Frontiers_HurricaneProofing080915[i-1].body = "
'Three Little Pigs'
As a stand-in for the brick home of the “Three Little Pigs,” this 1,900-square-foot structure at the University of Western Ontario has offered some important — if disappointingly un-dramatic — information about how hurricane forces can easily destroy unsecured homes, especially roofs. The eventual goal is new insight into how homes might be made safer through inexpensive but strategically placed reinforcements."; Tech_Frontiers_HurricaneProofing080915[i++] = new Array("","Buffeted by a Category 4 hurricane","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo/_new/080922-Hurricane-2-hmed.hmedium.jpg","","Image: pressure loads ", "", "", "", "", "", "", "Photo courtesy of Western Ontario University", "273", "367", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); Tech_Frontiers_HurricaneProofing080915[i-1].body = "
Buffeted by a Category 4 hurricane
Tests conducted in August at the University of Western Ontario’s Insurance Research Lab for Better Homes in London, Ontario, shown here with a two-story brick home inside the hangar-like building, simulated the wildly fluctuating pressure loads associated with a storm as strong as a Category 4 hurricane."; Tech_Frontiers_HurricaneProofing080915[i++] = new Array("","A storm’s push-and-pull forces","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo/_new/080922-Hurricane-3-hmed.hmedium.jpg","","Image: pressure load activators", "", "", "", "", "", "", "Photo courtesy of Western Ontario University", "273", "364", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); Tech_Frontiers_HurricaneProofing080915[i-1].body = "
A storm’s push-and-pull forces
Instead of a huge wind tunnel, researchers used dozens of strategically placed vacuum-like pressure hoses called “pressure load activators” to simulate a storm’s push-and-pull forces on the home’s walls and roof, including the four shown here."; Tech_Frontiers_HurricaneProofing080915[i++] = new Array("","Catastrophic failure","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo/_new/080922-Hurricane-4-hmed.hmedium.jpg","","Image: attic", "", "", "", "", "", "", "Photo courtesy of Western Ontario University", "237", "423", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); Tech_Frontiers_HurricaneProofing080915[i-1].body = "
Catastrophic failure
“The experiment was disappointingly un-dramatic,” concedes Greg Kopp of the University of Western Ontario. “We tell people that we destroyed a house and they’re imagining just a slab staying there by the end of it. And that’s not what happened.” Despite outward appearances, though, a closer inspection in the attic revealed significant damage: Only the weight of the roof was keeping it in place atop the house. "; Tech_Frontiers_HurricaneProofing080915[i++] = new Array("","Pressure buildup","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo/_new/080922-Hurricane-5-hmed.hmedium.jpg","","Image: broken window", "", "", "", "", "left", "", "Photo courtesy of Western Ontario University", "273", "205", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); Tech_Frontiers_HurricaneProofing080915[i-1].body = "
Pressure buildup
Past tests have analyzed the role of windows and glass in maintaining a home’s integrity during a storm. A window shattered by flying debris can act like a funnel for high winds, quickly increasing the pressure within a house by up to 70 percent, says the University of Western Ontario’s Greg Kopp. As a result of the extra pressure, a home’s roof can fail at far lower wind speeds, sometimes explosively."; Tech_Frontiers_HurricaneProofing080915[i++] = new Array("","Blasting test homes with 120 mph winds","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo/_new/080922-Hurricane-6-hmed.hmedium.jpg","","Image: portable wind and rain simulator ", "", "", "", "", "", "", "University of Florida", "266", "400", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); Tech_Frontiers_HurricaneProofing080915[i-1].body = "
Blasting test homes with 120 mph winds
Among other hurricane-simulating efforts, scientists at the University of Florida in Gainesville have deployed the world’s largest portable wind and rain simulator to blast test homes with wind speeds up to 120 miles per hour to test their structural integrity."; // END editorial data