New tornado panels made from composites

The new tornado panels are developed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The composition of thermoplastic and fiberglass resins and fibers used in the panels are stronger per-unit density than the steel used in many current shelters and weigh 80% less, according to the university. Some of the same foams and fibersglass chopped strand mat  are used in the latest armored military vehicles.

The research team developed a steel frame that holds the panels, and the frame can be broken down and carried into a closet or bathroom door and then reassembled. The panels, secured to each other and the floor of an interior room, protect against flying debris and are designed to keep people from being crushed or becoming airborne. The university says that the panels leave the assembly line looking like typical interior walls; they do not require paint and will never corrode.

Uday Vaidya, professor and chair of UAB’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering, worked with Storm Resistant Systems and Cooper Structural Engineers to scale the prototype panels for use in a home. The safe room is designed in accordance with FEMA standards to withstand 250 mile-per-hour winds, and was built to remain intact even if the house were destroyed. This prototype is the first-of-its-kind, and it can be replicated for installation in other homes.

 “With an average of more than 1,000 tornadoes recorded in the U.S. each year, it was crucial that something be done to make homes more safe,” Vaidya said. “Those tornadoes result in approximately 80 deaths and 1,500 injuries each year. Our goal was to develop new technology that would help protect individuals against the impact of debris during natural disasters, and I think with these panels, we’ve done just that.”