Funding approved for world’s first tornado simulator wind tunnel

The University of Western Ontario, in affiliation with the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR), has received funding to build the first wind tunnel that will simulate a tornado. The Canadian Foundation for Innovation has confirmed Cdn$9.5 million to build the WindEEE (Wind Engineering, Energy and Environment) Dome.The Dome will be the world’s first six-sided wind tunnel able to simulate an F3 tornado, according to the ICLR. WindEEE will use a series of giant fans to simulate an F3 tornado roughly six metres in size, the release notes. The facility will be able to test the vulnerabilities of structures, power lines, agricultural crops, forests and wind turbines against the swirling winds associated with tornadoes, and the powerful winds resulting from downdrafts, it adds. The dome could also be used to track the spread of pollutants over wide areas. Construction of the facility is anticipated to begin in a year and will be in operation a year or two later, the ICLR said.ICLR fully supports the WindEEE Dome project, which it believes will fill a void in the area of wind engineering research. The ICLR is affiliated with UWO and has been working with the wind engineering team there for a number of years.