Near-ground tornado wind fields
A study of near-ground tornado wind fields has been conducted by inspecting damage and debris patterns found in tornado damage paths. Because there were no significant tornado events (F4 or greater) during the contract performance period, data from the literature and the files of the Institute for Disaster Research were used to perform the analyses. The results indicate: (1) maximum tornado wind speed ever experienced or expected is in the range of 250 to 300 mph; (2) appearance of damage, taken by itself, is a misleading parameter of tornado intensity. Type of construction, age of construction, materials and other construction features significantly affect structural performance of a building subjected to wind loads and should be taken into account in assigning Fujita-Scale ratings; (3) damage to forests gives a good indication of tornado wind field flow patterns, but do not give verifiable values of wind speed; (4) factors such as translational speed, wind direction and path width affect appearance of damage or a tornado; and (5) even the most awesome appearing missiles do not require incredible wind speeds to explain them. Some progress in computer simulation of tornado missiles have been made. 31 references, 8 figures, 2 tables.
- Research Organization:
- Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock (USA). Inst. for Disaster Research
- OSTI ID:
- 6872625
- Report Number(s):
- NUREG/CR-3874; ON: TI84901819
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Portions are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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