Andalusia school

Is the structural design of the buildings a cause for the destruction of homes in Moore Oklahoma by strong winds? Below, you’ll find the results of the investigation.

Purpose:

In effort to reduce the loss of properties in Moore Oklahoma, due to strong winds, we will be determining which variable, in structural design, plays a major role in the destruction/preservation of homes by strong winds

Posing Question:

Is the structural design of the buildings a cause for the destruction of homes in Moore Oklahoma by strong winds?

Hypothesis:

We believe that the structural design of some of the homes in Moore Oklahoma actually contributes to their destruction by strong winds.

Introduction:

My students and I analyzed several pictures of homes commonly designed in Moore Oklahoma. We sketched a diagram of the commonly seen homes then built models:

Home Features:

Most of the homes that we analyzed were one story and looked more or less like the model above depicts.

Manipulated Variable:

I asked students to think about one variable (in structural design) that they believe can reduce the probability of the model home being destroyed by strong winds, if they were to change (manipulate) that variable. One variable that the class chose was the roof. That is, we believe that if the roof was changed, designed differently, it would reduce the probability of the model home being destroyed by strong winds.

Students sketched their re-designed home (after the variable was manipulated) then designed models:

Comparing both models in regards to structural design:

Comparison

Variables	Roof	Angle of Walls	Windows	Foundation	Wall	Sides of roof and walls
Common Model	A Separate body of the home; separate from the walls of the home	90 degrees; right angle	90 degree; right angle	Build on top of concrete slab; Actual home is on ground level	Starts from ground level and extends to roof	4 sides
Manipulated Model	Merges into the walls of the home; unable to tell the difference between the walls and the roof	60 degrees; acute angle	60 degrees; acute angle	Build on top concrete slab; actual home is below ground level	Starts below ground level and extends, forming the roof	6 sides

The Common Model Home	The Manipulated Model Home
-          Building starts at ground level	-          Building starts below ground level
-          Glued to the “ground”	-          Not glued to the ground

The Test

Each model (the Common and Manipulated) were subjected to the blasting of 2 industrial fans, for several minutes

Data Results after Strong Winds

The Common Model	The Manipulated Model
-          Paint chipped	-          Paint chipped
-      tree swayed in front of home	-      tree swayed in front of home
-          Building shook back and forth numerous times	-          Building did not shake

Analyzing data

We discovered that as a result of the design of the manipulated home, it provided not only less area for wind to collide but because of the slopped (acute) walls of the Manipulated home, the full force of the wind was reduced as the wind was redirected up the slopped walls. This was the reason why the Manipulated home did not shake as a result of the strong wind even though its neighbor, the Common home, did.

Conclusion

This experiment provides evidence to support the theory that the current structural design of many homes in Moore Oklahoma actually plays a role in the destruction of the homes themselves. We recommend that the Honorable government of Oklahoma regulate further the Building Design Plan of contactors when building homes in Tornado Valley, which includes Oklahoma. We believe that in building strong-wind resistant properties, the Federal and state governments will save tremendously in the area of disaster relief and insurance compensation.

Sincerely,

             Ted carryl (Bro. Daawud)