Patent ID: 7587946

Claim:
A testing apparatus for determining wind resistance of a building component, the testing apparatus comprising: a structural frame; a test base mounted to the frame and adapted to mount the building component thereto; at least one pull bar positionable between the test base and the building component; and at least one array of actuators mounted to the frame and adapted to couple to the at least one pull bar to apply force thereto wherein the at least one array of actuators comprises a first array of actuators arranged for applying a vertical force and a second array of actuators arranged for applying a horizontal force, and the at least one pull bar comprises a first pull bar that couples to the first array of actuators for applying the vertical force to the building component and a second pull bar that couples to the second array of actuators for applying the horizontal force to the building component, and wherein the vertical-force actuators are mounted to the frame by swivel joints permitting the vertical-force actuators to swivel in any direction.