Huge wind machine to simulate category three hurricanes

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University of Florida wind engineering researcher Forrest Masters stands on a newly completed fully portable hurricane wind simulator on May 29 2007.
University of Florida wind engineering researcher Forrest Masters stands on a newly completed, fully portable hurricane wind simulator on May 29, 2007.

It will huff, and puff, and blow the house in — but only for research purposes. Two days before the June 1 start of the 2007 hurricane season, University of Florida wind engineers unveiled the world’s largest portable hurricane wind and rain simulator. Mounted on a trailer, the industrial-sized behemoth is composed of eight 5-foot-tall industrial fans powered by four marine diesel engines that together produce 2,800 horsepower. To cool the engines, the system taps water from a 5,000-gallon tank aboard a truck that doubles as the simulator’s tow vehicle.


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