Wind, Water and Monolithic Domes

September 7, 2005

by David B. South and Freda Parker

A Monolithic Dome, by its very nature, can and will withstand hurricane winds. The strongest hurricanes push with 150-mile-per-hour (mph) winds or 100 pounds per square foot. That force means absolutely nothing to a Monolithic Dome. Debris those winds might carry might break a window or cause some surface nicks and scratches. The dome itself, however, would remain standing.

Many conventional structures cannot withstand the internal pressure from a hurricane. For example, if a garage door pops open or a window pops out, air pressure coming into the structure can explode it. That will not happen with a Monolithic Dome -- even if all the doors and windows are left open or taken down. Obviously, it's easier on the occupant if windows stay in place. Consequently, Monolithic suggests using hurricane-rated windows and/or shutters that pull down over the windows to protect them.

Sometimes tornadoes come embedded in hurricanes. Tornado winds can be three times as powerful as hurricane winds, but a Monolithic Dome can withstand them. Nevertheless, windows and doors should be protected. The dome can easily survive air pressure that might get in, but unprotected windows might result in flying glass. To avoid injury, people sheltering in a Monolithic Dome during a hurricane or tornado should stay behind the concrete portion of the dome -- never in front of glass.

Hurricanes bring water as well as winds. If the location of the dome is such that water can wash up against it, great care must be taken in its design and construction. While water surge will not hurt the dome, it can loosen its foundation by washing away the ground under the dome.

In September 2004, Hurricane Ivan hit Dome of a Home in Pensacola Beach, Florida and caused enormous beach erosion. Water surge wiped out all of the protective dunes between the dome and the shoreline. Had Dome of a Home not been set on pilings, the onslaught of water would have moved it. In a large area, the water actually excavated the ground out from under the dome. But because Dome of a Home was set on a series of pilings that were driven 17 feet into the earth, it held its position.

Moving water can be really nasty. Besides ground erosion, moving water that gets inside a structure can destroy interior walls, particularly if they are hollow. Water can knock the walls down or fill them with foul debris. Fortunately, Monolithic Dome walls are not hollow.

I recently had a representative from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an agency of the US Department of Commerce that conducts environmental research, contact me. The NOAA wanted to know if a Monolithic Dome could be built that would survive a 100 foot tsunami. My answer was an absolute Yes with this provision: a rock that I could anchor the dome to. The rock would have to prevent the uplift created by the water flowing over the dome to pop the dome to the water's surface. Water over the top of a Monolithic Dome turns that dome into an upside-down boat that will struggle to pop to the surface. So, for this situation, the dome must be anchored. But if the water gets indside the dome, the pressure is equalized, and the water's lifting capacity is lost.

Obviously, Monolithic Domes can be designed and built to withstand the wind surge of a tornado or hurricane, as well as the water surge of a hurricane or tsunami. But when gross amounts of water are involved, protection from that water must be carefully considered and implemented.

Wind, Water and Monolithic Domes

Related Links: