Bermuda reinsurer RenaissanceRe is to provide funding for a research machine that will be capable of replicating the conditions created by a category four hurricane in a laboratory environment.

The company, through its US affiliate WeatherPredict Consulting, Inc., has teamed up with Florida International University’s (FIU) International Hurricane Research Center (IHRC) to build the machine.

Known as the RenaissanceRe Wall of Wind (WOW), it will comprise an array of six industrial fans capable of synthesising wind of more than 130 miles per hour, with rain.

It will allow scientists to study the impact of severe storms on structures and the effectiveness against them of different types of construction methods.

Powered by a 502-horsepower racing car engine, the WOW consists of six rotating propellers, each inside a 7-foot round aluminium duct. Wall-mounted and free-standing wind-driven rain gauges will measure vertical and horizontal rainfall intensities.

The test object, such as a full-size single-storey house, will stand 10 to 15 feet from the machine and instrumentation and high-speed cameras will monitor its degradation. The testing facility is slated to be completed in the late summer of this year. The IHRC already has a two-fan prototype unit, which has been used to test roof shingles.

The six-fan machine will be Phase Two, while there are plans to eventually build an 18-fan unit capable of replicating a 160mph wind.

“A critical component of minimizing both loss of life and property damage in a hurricane is to better understand the impact of these storms on our buildings,” said Craig Tillman, president of WeatherPredict Consulting, Inc.

“While substantial resources have been devoted to analysing hurricanes and improving weather prediction, little scientific research has been done on the ways in which hurricanes affect the building materials that protect us.

“The valuable scientific data collected from testing on the RenaissanceRe Wall of Wind will help storm-exposed areas like Florida identify superior construction designs, materials and techniques, thus mitigating insured losses and building more resilient communities.”

The funding comes at a time when Florida has doubled the size of its catastrophe fund to $32 billion and the state is offering cut-price reinsurance to home insurance companies. This is likely to cost RenaissanceRe and other Bermuda reinsurers some business.