Inside the Wind

Reported November 2009

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Traditionally, wind tunnels are used to study the effects of hurricane-force winds on objects like cars, houses or airplanes. But now researchers are looking at how much wind a person can withstand.

It might seem like a fun ride, but when Christina Unger bravely stepped into the University of Maryland's Glenn L. Martin wind tunnel, she got more than she bargained for. "I expected it to be more fun than scary," Unger told Ivanhoe.

Once a year, the wind tunnel opens it doors to let a select few individuals to experience winds up to 115 miles per hour. Through wind tunnels, engineers can learn how much wind it takes to rip apart a house.

"We also do measurements on buildings and things like antennas that are exposed to high speed winds, and in some cases evaluating their ability to survive in hurricane conditions," Jewel Barlow, Ph.D., an aerospace engineer at the University of Maryland in College Park, told Ivanhoe.

The wind tunnel is shaped like a racetrack. It's wider on the straight sections and narrow around the corners. As a huge fan blows air, the air has to speed up to get through the tunnel's tight, narrow corners. The air is recirculated to reach speeds of up to 230 miles per hour, surpassing a category five hurricane!

Researchers hope a sneak peek inside a wind tunnel will help more people understand the power of a storm. Winds in a category one hurricane can knock down road signs and blow off roofs.

Category two hurricanes have winds over 100 miles per hour, putting your life in danger. "You either have to be holding onto something or tied to something in order to stand up in 100 mile per hour winds," Dr. Barlow explained.

Unger made it up to 90 mile per hour wind speeds -- strong enough to take her breath away. "My time in the wind tunnel today was almost unreal," she described. It was a real "windy" experience.

The deadliest hurricane on U.S. record was a category four storm in 1900 that killed 8,000 people in Galveston, Texas. One-hundred-and-thirty-mile-an-hour winds and 15 foot waves destroyed the island.

The Meteorological Society and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.-USA, contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report.

Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:

Jewel Barlow, PhD
Aerospace Engineer
University of Maryland
(301) 244-9522 or (301) 405-6861
barlow@umd.edu

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
IEEE
Pender McCarter
IEEE http://www.ieee.org
IEEE-USA http://www.ieeeusa.org
p.mccarter@ieee.org

A dangerous combination -- pregnant women and pesticides. Some commonly used bug and weed killers may be linked to birth defects. We'll tell you which months are the most dangerous for expecting moms

2.5 million people are affected by MS, but a new breakthrough drug is giving people the ability to walk and feel again

Public transportation saves 855 million gallons of gas each year. If you want to go green, but you don't want to wait forever for the next bus, there's a new free service that gets rid of the bus stop guesswork

The future is here. Scientists, car companies and the federal government are teaming up to reduce traffic congestion and dangerous driving conditions by creating cars that communicate with each other

This speed bump doesn't just slow you down; it could also save your life! Driving over it detects damage to cars and trucks and alerts drivers

Take away cracks, fill in holes and replace paint … damaged and priceless works of art are restored with light right before your eyes

Experience winds up to 115 miles per hour, without being blown to bits! We'll take you inside hurricane-force winds

Wind power is the fastest growing renewable energy in the United States. A tiny sensor could be the key to our power problems

In a life or death situation, every second counts. Now science is helping emergency crews get to the scene faster

This cop car is like no other. It's the world's first car built specifically to help catch criminals

When a thousandth of a second counts, understanding fluid dynamics is critical. We'll show you how Olympians and scientists are teaming up to win the gold

This orangutan has a unique, one-of-a-kind talent. She's taught herself to whistle! Watch this video … it's hysterical! We'll show you how Bonnie is helping scientists