The 'Foolish' Barn Design That Survived Every Tornado Since 1884 скачать в хорошем качестве

The 'Foolish' Barn Design That Survived Every Tornado Since 1884

Madison County, Iowa — May 1884 Local papers described severe tornadic winds crossing the Winterset area. Barn losses were common across late-nineteenth-century Iowa during such outbreaks. County assessors tallied damage: rectangular timber frames racked off stone sills, gable ends collapsed, livestock exposed. Amid recurring storm reports, a subset of circular barns began appearing in county write-ups and later statewide surveys. Neighbors called them follies, impractical curiosities, wastes of good lumber. Within decades, university bulletins would quantify their material efficiency and aerodynamic advantages. True round barns required significantly fewer board-feet than rectangular barns and showed lower suction at eaves in model tests. Calculations based on standard wind-pressure formulas put one hundred thirty mile-per-hour winds at roughly forty-three pounds per square foot—loads of rectangular walls concentrated at corners but circular walls dispersed continuously. This is the documented story of how Iowa farmers, insurers, and engineers moved from skepticism to adoption, guided by measured labor savings, lumber reductions, and wind-loading mathematics.