At the Wall of Wind, engineers blow homes apart to learn how to save them
Extreme weather threatens millions of manufactured homes. Researchers are looking for practical ways to make them more more wind resilient.
At the University of Florida's Wall of Wind, engineers subject homes to extreme conditions to identify vulnerabilities and improve hurricane-resistant construction. The first signs of structural distress are subtle - vinyl skirting fluttering, siding peeling. The 12 high-speed fans generate wind at highway speeds, causing the manufactured home to sway and a deafening roar fills the test facility.
As the wind accelerates, windows shatter and the house struggles against its anchors, eventually snapping and toppling over. This destructive test, led by structural engineer Elaina Sutley, aims to pinpoint where homes fail under hurricane-force winds. Sutley, who witnessed the destructive power of tornadoes first-hand during her master's studies in Alabama, now uses the Wall of Wind to simulate extreme weather and test ways to make affordable housing safer.
Over 20 million Americans live in 6.7 million manufactured homes, many built before 1994 when wind standards were first strengthened. Sutley's experiments, which test the homes' installation and wind exposure, could help identify simple changes to make these structures more resilient against future storms.
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