The grizzled veterans of the Ohio State campus know that the snowy trek to class can help decide between going to class and shutting off the alarm for another couple hours of sleep. With temperatures falling below zero degrees, every gust of wind can be misery.
According to city-data.com the average winter wind in Columbus is about 10 miles per hour and comes from the west. However, it can often be stronger on campus.
Kevin Dockman, a senior in marketing from Cleveland, is accustomed to cold weather, but he laments the frigid blasts of wind that sweep through campus.
"Sometimes it feels like you're walking in a wind tunnel," Dockman said.
Bernoulli's Principle explains the wind-tunnel effect on campus, said Lt. Vincent Libasci, who teaches naval engineering. The principle states that when a fluid, such as air, flows into a confined space, such as an alley between buildings, the velocity of the fluid will increase and the pressure exerted by the fluid will decrease.
This effect is observable on campus streets such as 17th Avenue and Woody Hayes Drive, as well as the walkway between the Recreation and Physical Activiy Center and the Physical Activities and Education Services building.
Conversely, as the wind moves into more open areas, such as The Oval, the pressure increases and the wind speed returns to normal.
A study published in the Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics studied the amplification effects of building placement on wind speed. The study found that wind speed can increase up to 50 percent by passing through corridors similar to those on campus.
However, it is reasonable to expect wind speeds to increase by 100 percent because of this principle, said Professor Joseph Haritonidis, who teaches aerospace engineering. Haritonidis also said that factors such as the height of a building will increase wind speed.
"The more blockage you provide, the faster the air has to travel around [the building]." Haritonidis said. "Taller buildings will provide more blockage, so the air will travel faster around them."
Haritonidis has observed this effect regularly on campus.
"I've noticed that it is particularly windy around the Math Tower, because it's so tall," Haritonidis said. "It's also pretty bad in the walkway to High Street by the Wexner Center."
So is there a chance that Ohio State could be deemed "The New Windy City"?
It is not likely, said Roger De Leon, a junior in international relations and diplomacy and a native of Chicago.
"There's no comparison between Ohio State's campus and Chicago," De Leon said. "When the wind comes off the lake and moves through the city, it feels like it's going to shear your face off."
Jason Cocca can be reached at cocca.1@osu.edu.
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