Engineering Commons^™

Physical Simulation Of Tornado-Like Vortices, Maryam Refan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Scaling ratios of simulations are essential to research the effect of tornadic winds on buildings and structures, in both experimental and numerical studies. In order to determine the proper scaling, access to wind fields of simulated and full-scale tornadoes is needed. For the first time here Doppler radar tornado velocity fields are analyzed and compared to experimental tornado-like vortices data in order to establish the scaling necessary to simulate tornadoes in a physical laboratory setting.

A prototype three-dimensional wind testing chamber capable of simulating tornadoes, named Model WindEEE Dome (MWD), was designed and built. Tornado-like vortices were simulated and investigated …