College of Engineering News • Iowa State University

NSF grant supports simulator studies of tornado winds and impacts on buildings

The Iowa State University Tornado Simulator kicked up a thick and slowly spinning funnel cloud over a model of a small town, overwhelming the miniature streets, buildings and homes. Partha Sarkar turned from the laboratory vortex and announced, “That’s an EF3.”

Iowa State engineers to simulate and model tornado winds and their effects on buildings

The Iowa State University Tornado Simulator kicked up a thick and slowly spinning funnel cloud over a model of a small town, overwhelming the miniature streets, buildings and homes. Partha Sarkar turned from the laboratory vortex and announced, “That’s an EF3.” Most tornadoes (about 90 percent of them) are EF3 or less in intensity. And …Continue reading “Iowa State engineers to simulate and model tornado winds and their effects on buildings”

Iowa State researchers find, test winds extending far away from Alabama tornado’s path

Christopher Karstens was on the ground studying the damage caused by the deadly April 27, 2011, tornado that hit Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, Ala. It was just a week after the tornado. He was between the two cities, in the rough country of the southern Appalachians about 20 miles northeast of Tuscaloosa. He said it’s terrain …Continue reading “Iowa State researchers find, test winds extending far away from Alabama tornado’s path”

Teams of scientists looking for lessons in storm’s aftermath

A devoted cadre of scientists bent on untangling information and explanations from the debris has toured Joplin, hoping to learn some lessons from the rubble about surviving tornadoes such as the one that hit May 22. Three researchers from Iowa — Bill Gallus, Partha Sarkar and Chris Karstens — focus on structural damage. They want …Continue reading “Teams of scientists looking for lessons in storm’s aftermath”

Meteorologist looks for clues in tornado’s aftermath

When Bill Gallus Jr. was 12, the budding weather junkie witnessed the 1977 Johnstown flood and its aftermath — a community rebuilding following a deadly natural disaster. Now an accomplished meteorologist and a professor at Iowa State University, Gallus spent last week in tornado-ravaged Joplin, Mo., studying the effects of 200-mph winds on homes and …Continue reading “Meteorologist looks for clues in tornado’s aftermath”

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