How much do "slits" in fabric and "bases" make a difference in a sail-like cloth?
I'm trying to shop for an outdoor umbrella. One thing that keeps coming up again and again in reviews is how the umbrella does in wind. I'd imagine wind performance actually has very little to do with the specific umbrella and mostly to do with 2 factors:
A. Base Weight - the weight of the base (assuming the umbrella attaches well to the base)
B. Fabric "Slits" - whether or not the umbrella is a single piece of fabric or has "tiering" like this.
Is that a correct assumption? If we get really technical, I'm sure some fabric types (elasticities) do better than others, but I'd guess A + B are 90% of wind performance.
If it's mostly base and "slit",
A. Base Weight Calculation - how do you calculate the base weight you'd need for a given umbrella size x max wind speed? Understanding max wind speed would also help me know when I need to close it (I assume most of the time/especially when not in use, but would be good to know the number)
B. "Slit" Performance - I've noticed umbrellas with tiering cost ~$200 more (just my memory there, could be +/-). What is the increase in max wind speed I can expect by getting tiering? If it's 5mph more, I'm not paying $200. If it's lots more, I might consider it.
For the base, heavier and wider is more stable.
For the aerodynamics, there are going to be a lot more factors than just slits, and I wouldn't trust a simulation that isn't validated by testing(such as a wind tunnel).
I'd personally look more at how it's constructed. If you really need it to survive winds, you'd probably want a much heavier post anchored in concrete, and the rest of the hardware to be much heavier duty as well.
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