WiSH Project

Wind Safe Manufactured Housing (WiSH) Project

Welcome to the WiSH Project, where we are working towards wind-safe manufactured housing.

Wind provisions governing the design of manufactured homes have not changed since 1994. Some would say it is wishful thinking that we may change that. However, on the WiSH project, our team is committed to modernizing design standards without compromising affordability. If you’d like to become part of the movement, please reach out to the PI, Dr. Elaina Sutley, at enjsutley@ku.edu.

The WiSH Project is a collaborative effort bringing together researchers from the University of Kansas, the University of Alabama and Florida International University.

Project Background

In 2021, the Florida Division of Emergency Management began funding our research focused on improving the wind performance of manufactured homes. This collaborative project between the University of Kansas, the University of Alabama and Florida International University has included dozens of experimental tests on full-scale connections, development of finite element models and wind-tunnel experiments on a large-scale unit, as well as on different mobile home park arrangements. This fifth year of the project is an exciting culmination of the prior advancements that involve the testing of three full-scale manufactured homes at the Wall of Wind Experimental Facility at FIU. Experiments are scheduled for May 2026, so stay tuned!

If you’re interested in receiving a monthly update on the project, or the link to the live streaming of the tests in May, please sign up here.

This research is supported by funding through the Florida Division of Emergency Management, the National Science Foundation (read the award abstract here) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as support from the Applied Technology Council. The multiagency collaboration emphasizes the significance and potential impact of this research.

Testing Plan

Phase 1: Wind Zone I Installation

Unit 1 will be tested in three positions outside the Wall of Wind. The gravity-based installations will make the repositioning easier and will inform detailed insights on wind pressure distributions.

Phase 2: Wind Zone III Installation

The second unit will be tested with a Wind Zone III installation for the purpose of quantifying the performance of a WZIII installation to enable translations into relevant design and use guidance.

Superstructure retrofits will be considered and utilized as needed based on observations during the testing.

Phase 3: Modified Wind Zone III Installation

The third unit will be tested with a modified Wind Zone III installation for the possibility of making recommended changes to codified Wind Zone III installation requirements.

Research Findings To Date

We’ve tested dozens of commonly used designs for structural connections in manufactured homes in the lab here at KU. Many of these exceed requirements and many do not meet HUD design requirements and greatly fall short of standards for site-built buildings.

We’ve analyzed anchorage performance after Hurricane Michael. Our findings align with existing literature, confirming that auger anchors underperformed during Hurricane Michael, failing to meet codified working loads at the required displacements. Although anchors can prevent catastrophic failure, excessive displacement was observed under wind pressures below design thresholds, indicating a risk of foundation compromise in stronger wind events.

We’ve tested a small-scale unit in the Wall of Wind experimental facility to document wind pressure distributions to feed into a finite element model and have also measured wind pressure coefficients on different mobile home park arrangements.