10 years ago I'd proposed the notion of a "scuba" style regulator to modify pressure within a structure to avoid damage from hurricane or tornado winds.
Successfully building a regulator that would act fast enough would be quite challenging, as was pointed out. The jet engine idea posted recently got me thinking about what is really doable...
When one looks at high wind safe structures, whether the igloo or permanent Antarctic bases, domes and half spheres inevitably come to mind.
While it's not realistic to expect building codes to require dome construction everywhere you might get 75mph or higher winds, perhaps an instant "domification" device might be cost effective, especially as compared to the cost of boarding and unboarding windows, etc.
Idea here would be a to do as much as is realistically possible, for a given structure, to eliminate sharp angles and walls, by inflating a dome tent around the building, perhaps assisted by CO2 cartridges (as in an inflatable raft), to be triggered manually or by an impending weather event tied to a barometer.-- theircompetitor, Feb 23 2017 SCHOUBA Self_20Contained_20...eathing_20Apparatus [theircompetitor, Feb 23 2017] Jet Engines for Homes Jet_20engine_20for_...s_20tornado_20zones [theircompetitor, Feb 23 2017] Tornado camera unit https://www.google......0.0.0.icXrqwTYF7oQuite happy in the middle of a tornado. [neutrinos_shadow, Feb 23 2017] Egyptian Domes Galore https://www.google....Gw&biw=1366&bih=648More domes than you can shake a stick at, given a limited stick shaking time. [bungston, Feb 25 2017] Have you ever noticed that, even within the arctic circle, very few igloos are more than 10 years old. And in Egypt there are almost none at all.
I think the problem is that any inflatable structure, even a domed one, would not be strong enough without so many internal braces as to make it unworkable.
On the other hand, though, it would behove architects to consider the merits of domes and adapt buildings accordingly. For instance, a roof whose edges curved down, and didn't let the wind under, might be a good idea.
I also wonder how much damage is done by aerofoil-style lift - that is, by wind passing over a pitched roof in the same way it passes over a cambered aerofoil. Perhaps lift-killing spoilers might prevent some rooves from being lifted off by high winds.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 23 2017 It's already possible to construct buildings which can endure tornados, hurricanes etc. wihout damage.
They are more expensive than the typical mid-Western house made from cardboard, chewing gum and staples.
Dig a shallow hole, maybe 1500 mm deep, and pile the fill around the hole. Pour a raft foundation. Fit walls onto the foundation with an external moisture barrier. Attach the roof. Push the fill back against the walls, avoiding doors and windows*. Seed with grass to stabilize the slope.
For a single storey dwelling, it will stand about 2000 mm above ground level and have a thick angled revetment of soil around it. It looks like a blast shelter, which of course is exactly what it is.
Other tips:
Don't build in low-lying areas prone to flooding.
Don't build with flimsy materials.
Don't rely on statistics for protection against extreme weather phnomena.
*This bit is IMPORTANT.-- 8th of 7, Feb 23 2017 [8th], according to my calculations, your dwelling will have a total height of 3.5m. Assuming that the foundation slab and roof occupy a total of 0.8m, that gives you an internal space only 2.7m high.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 23 2017 Domestic dwellings typically have a ceiling height of 2.4 - 2.6 m.
Most domestic doors are 2.0 - 2.1 m high.
And your point is... ?-- 8th of 7, Feb 23 2017 Doesn't meet the standards of the Buchanan Estate, to be sure. Why, where would the 'upstairs' folk stay?-- RayfordSteele, Feb 23 2017 //Domestic dwellings typically have a ceiling height of 2.4 - 2.6 m.//
That would be only 7-8ft in proper units. I'm pretty sure that even the humblest of rooms have ceiling heights greater than that. Or perhaps I mean floor depths.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 23 2017 I'm with [8th of 7]. (See linky) There are camera units that will sit on the ground, un-anchored, while a tornado passes over top of them. Surely a house can be built to sit still as well.-- neutrinos_shadow, Feb 23 2017 its a matter of time until someone gets a drone into a tornado, shirley?-- bs0u0155, Feb 23 2017 //Today's storm (Doris) has flattened my special yellow crocuses.//
If you have some surviving white croci and Photoshop, you're sorted.
Failing that, flattened (kinked) plant stems can be rescued by peeing on them - the urea penetrates the stem cells, and draws in water by osmosis, which allows the cells to regain their pre-flattening shapes.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 23 2017 Snowdrops? I'm a-bloody-wash in unbidden snowdrops. They're contiguous. What you need to do is plant a few 120ft beech trees in between the snowdrops - they appreciate the shade.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 23 2017 //the first sign of a relief in the constant and depressingly intolerable torment that is winter.//
My god, are you out of gin?-- bs0u0155, Feb 23 2017 ^I'm not sure the Temperance movement has an outcropping here quite yet. What's needed is kind of a multi-faith version of HB, where you can click a button for your belief system.
On a complete aside, it just crossed my mind that Genesis 1:28 "... God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth." Does that mean the other planets are no-go zones?-- not_morrison_rm, Feb 23 2017 //Does that mean...// No, it means that who-ever wrote that part of the bibble was an idiot.-- neutrinos_shadow, Feb 23 2017 I bet god is really kicking himself over the "be fruitful and multiply" bit now.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 24 2017 Well, the instructions for Noah's ark, and the Ark of the Covenant are pretty precise with regard to sizes and materials. It could be that "be fruitful and multiply" is just a mistranslation of a divine command to make some sort of edible abacus ...-- 8th of 7, Feb 25 2017 No, it's clearly your fault. All of it.
So, are you going to apologize ?-- 8th of 7, Feb 25 2017 //why didn't it get more views and make any monetisation//
Well, could it be because nobody knew it was there? I didn't, for instance.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 25 2017 So not trouser-like domes that pop off your house under pressure.-- wjt, Feb 25 2017 I cannot understand social pressure to build your house in a certain shape, and to only wear clothes within certain limits of shape and color. Cars are the present shapes because that's the best shape given current technology. Computers are the present shapes for the same reason, as are boats. But there's no technological reason not to completely redesign houses. A dome is a fine shape for modern materials technology with very few problems. So is a metal box covered in foam concrete. So is packed earth with wooden supports. Overalls, a jump suit, or a clip-on toga are perfectly reasonable ways to dress given modern materials science and the practical limitations of clothing. So why can't I build a dome and dress in burgundy denim overalls without facing public censure? For that matter a golf cart is a better vehicle than what's mostly used for city driving.-- Voice, Feb 25 2017 You're talking humans here, no matter what you do, you'll face public censure. Of course you could hide in a dome.
Wanting other people to want what you want, is a whole other can of worms.-- wjt, Feb 26 2017 We don't like worms, they're icky ... and the canned sort are disgusting...
Maggots, now ....-- 8th of 7, Feb 26 2017 Take them back for a refund, they were definitely canned improperly.-- wjt, Mar 01 2017 random, halfbakery