Multimedia Gallery
Manmade "Wall of Wind" creates hurricane force winds to test construction
Science NationA Category 5 hurricane is a monster of a storm that most people would want to avoid. But, civil engineer Arindam Chowdhury actually recreates those monster hurricane force winds in hopes of helping us better prepare for the real thing. Chowdhury and his team at Florida International University (FIU) and the International Hurricane Research Center designed a 15-foot-tall "Wall of Wind," aptly nicknamed WOW. The wall is made up of 12 giant fans. They can create the intensity of a Category 5 hurricane with 157 mile-an-hour winds. The team's goal is to see if low-rise structures and building materials can withstand the same wind forces they would face in a full-blown hurricane.
Credit: National Science Foundation
Images and other media in the National Science Foundation Multimedia Gallery are available for use in print and electronic material by NSF employees, members of the media, university staff, teachers and the general public. All media in the gallery are intended for personal, educational and nonprofit/non-commercial use only.
Videos credited to the National Science Foundation, an agency of the U.S. Government, may be distributed freely. However, some materials within the videos may be copyrighted. If you would like to use portions of NSF-produced programs in another product, please contact the Video Team in the Office of Legislative and Public Affairs at the National Science Foundation.
Additional information about general usage can be found in Conditions.