Gallery: Home Wreckers: Crash Testing Buildings With Manufactured Disaster

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    __1. FANS__ An array of 105 individually controlled 5.5-foot fans blow 24 million cubic feet of air per minute at speeds of up to 140 miles per hour—the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane. *Photo: Ian Allen*
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    __2. HANGAR DOORS__ These must stay open during tests so the building doesn't pressurize and explode. "The headlines would be bad if the safety research center destroyed itself," Cope says. *Photo: Ian Allen*
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    __3. FLAMES__ Smoldering mulch embers waft up from a trench and are blown toward the dummy home. A mobile cage full of natural gas burners will also blow radiant heat, simulating a neighboring fire. *Photo: Ian Allen*
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    __4. CONTROL BOOTH__ Up to 80 techs watch the destruction through impact-rated windows, adjusting the wind gusts, rain ferocity, and heat to match documented weather patterns. *Photo: Ian Allen*
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    __5. SPRINKLERS__ These rainmakers can release as much as 8 inches of water an hour in droplets of various sizes. The research center also has a hail maker that freezes pellets before delivering them at terminal velocity. *Photo: Ian Allen*
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    __6. TURNTABLE__ Want to test how each side of the fake domicile responds to catastrophic damage? No problem. Dollies can carry dwellings to a 55-foot-diameter rotating platform. *Photo: Ian Allen*
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    __7. INNOCENT VICTIM__ One of the model homes built for destruction. The facility is so huge that houses like this can be carted in and out easily. *Photo: Ian Allen*
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    __8. WATER TANK__ You don't want to run out of rain in the middle of a simulation of a Cat 5 hurricane. This water tank holds all of the liquid you need for a terrential downpour. *Photo: Ian Allen*
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    __9. POWER SUPPLY__ This is the power supply that leads to the fan array on the exterior of the Institute for Business & Home Safety's new facility. *Photo: Ian Allen*
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    __10. FAN ARRAY__ You can't fake gale force winds with a desk fan. This massive wall of wind generation is visible on the exterior of the IBHS facility. *Photo: Ian Allen*
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    A fly-through of the Institute for Business & Home Safety’s six-story, half-acre lab.
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