Small Tornado Simulator

A smaller scale prototype tornado simulator at Iowa State University Wind Simulation and Testing Laboratory. This was used to validate the design of a much larger scale traversing tornado simulator.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• iowa
• state
• university
• wist
• tornado
• simulator

[ganstergreed]

good but bad you can see its just a liter fire edited into this video

[jdeters79]

Say what? A liter? I assume you mean lighter? And no, the video is not edited. The vortex is made visible using dry ice.

[rjhsraider]

This must have been inside a cylindrical container, with some fan vacuuming the air from the top. The realism fails because the tornado is powered from above it (limiting its movement on the plane) and thus has a tube shape, not an inverted funnel.

[jdeters79]

You obviously know very little about the dynamics of a tornado and the abilities to translate a tornado across a plane. Iowa State's WIST (WInd Simulation & Testing) lab is home to the countries largest traversing simulated tornado. The vortex can be as large as 3 feet in diameter and can be translated approximately 20 feet horizontally across a simulated ground plane. Do some research before making worthless comments.

[exile0142015]

@jdeter79, u should make those and sell it in toys r us or somthin, every kid would like one, even me!

[vfIskullangel]

Thats cool! :)

[Simplysims001]

What ever u did, Its the same way they did the ride twister at universal

[MyWildRide]

Raptor, there probably is some dust, but most of what you are seeing was created with dry ice. The Iowa State Tornado simulator is really cool. Jdeters79 is my son and I had the opportunity to visit the lab several times. Look it up on Google and you may get some better pictures. I had a previous post on here from my other son's account, handsomedave.

[RaptorRammstein]

There is a (really) dust? :-D

[handsomedave76]

jdeters79 is my son and I have seen the lab at Iowa State that he shot this video in. This simulator is about 30 feet square (not square feet)and has a large fan and blower built on an overhead crane. The fan is moved laterally on the crane assembly which gives the vortex motion. This was built for it's intended use of researching tornadoes.

[rjhsraider]

Yes, you are right, I do not have much education in the field of a tornado, and do not claim much. Ignoring your belittlement, at your lab, how was this simulated tornado brought into motion? Certainly not by varying densities of air, (hot\cold)? Or was this like most others, with jets of air being forced inside a cylindrical tube?

Good job on the terrain work (if that large). Those homes look pretty real. (By the way:I am not a skilled architect or engineer, so my judgment is worth nothing. :/)