engineering

Hurricane-proof building

Hurricane-proof building is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Hurricane-proof building rather than just read about it. In short: High winds and storm surge, such as can be created by a tropical cyclone, can cause significant damage to structures. A variety of methods can help a building survive strong winds and storm surge.

Key takeaways

Hurricane-proof building belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Hurricane-proof building to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Hurricane-proof building from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

High winds and storm surge, such as can be created by a tropical cyclone, can cause significant damage to structures. A variety of methods can help a building survive strong winds and storm surge.

Storm surge considerations Waves along coastal areas can destroy many buildings. Buildings should preferably be built on high ground to avoid waves. If waves can reach the building site, the building should be elevated on steel, concrete, or wooden pilings or anchored to solid rock.

Wind loading considerations

Foundation Wind on the roof surfaces can cause negative pressures that create a lifting force sufficient to lift the roof off the building. Once this occurs, the building is weakened considerably, and the rest will likely fail as well. To minimize this vulnerability, the upper structure ought to be anchored through the walls to the foundation. Several methods can be used to anchor the roof. Typically, roof trusses are "toenailed" into the top of the walls, but this provides insufficient force to resist high winds. Hurricane ties nail into the wall and wrap over the trusses to provide higher force resistance.

Mobile home tie down to the foundation Interlocking metal pan roof systems installed on mobile homes can fail under the pressure differential (lift) created by the high-velocity winds passing over the surface plane of the roof. This is compounded by the wind entering the building allowing the building interior to pressurize, lifting the underside of the roof panels, resulting in the destruction of the building. To mitigate this pressure differential, pre-installed aluminum tabular channels can be permanently fastened perpendicularly across the top of the interlocking ribs of the metal roof system without disturbing the flow of rainwater at the eaves mid-span and ridge locations of the building.

Earth-sheltering Earth-sheltered construction is generally more resistant to strong winds and tornadoes than standard construction. Cellars and other earth-sheltered components of other buildings can provide safe refuge during tornadoes.

Dome homes

The physical geometry of a building affects its aerodynamic properties and how well it can withstand a storm. Geodesic dome roofs or buildings have low drag coefficients and can withstand higher wind forces than a square building of the same area. Even stronger buildings result from monolithic dome construction.

Log house

A Category 5 hurricane-proof log house is resistant to winds up to 245 miles per hour (394 km/h). Wall logs in such construction must be made of glued laminated timber and all other components of the house, including hurricane straps, must be hurricane-resistant.

Round house A round, or multiple-sided home, is more resistant to hurricane strength winds. The round design allows the wind to blow around the home, reducing the build-up of pressure on one side. Additionally, with the roof and floors built using a radial truss array, that allows any potential energy from sustained winds to disperse across the entire structure instead of building up in one area.

Building components Building openings such as garage doors and windows are often weak points susceptible to failure by wind pressure and blowing debris. Once failure occurs, wind pressure builds up inside the building resulting in the roof lifting off the building. Hurricane shutters can provide protection. Doors can be blown into the house by wind, causing potential structural failure Windows can be constructed with plastic panes, shatterproof glass, or glass with protective membranes. The panes are often more firmly attached than normal window panes, including using screws or bolts through the edges of larger panes. Concrete anchor screws are used to secure windows to the concrete structure surrounding them. Wood has a relatively high degree of flexibility, which can be beneficial under certain building stresses. Reinforced concrete is a strong, dense material that can withstand the destructive power of very high winds and high-speed debris if used in a building that is designed properly.

Regulation After Hurricane Andrew in 1992 caused $16 billion in insured damage, the state of Florida established new building standards and enforcement. The state increased performance criteria for wind-load provisions and adopted new wind provisions from the American Society of Civil Engineers. One important addition to the new code was the requirement of missile-impact resisting glass, which can withstand high-velocity impact from wind-borne debris during a hurricane. Many houses built in South Florida since Hurricane Andrew are cinder block masonry construction reinforced with concrete pillars, hurricane-strapped roof trusses, and codes requirements for adhesives and types of roofing. Florida also designated high velocity hurricane zones (i.e. High Velocity Hurricane Zone) with special requirements defined for Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. Hong Kong requires many structures to withstand winds from typhoons.

Examples of cyclonic construction methods Residential construction in Darwin Northern Australia

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hurricane-proof building

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hurricane-proof building claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Hurricane-proof building before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Hurricane-proof building ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Hurricane-proof building

In research: Hurricane-proof building appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Hurricane-proof building in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Hurricane-proof building is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Building, Building engineering, Buildings and structures, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hurricane-proof building outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Hurricane-proof building” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Hurricane-proof building in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Hurricane-proof building means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Hurricane-proof building out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hurricane-proof building in simple terms?

High winds and storm surge, such as can be created by a tropical cyclone, can cause significant damage to structures. A variety of methods can help a building survive strong winds and storm surge.

Why does Hurricane-proof building matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Hurricane-proof building?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Hurricane-proof building.