ICorps: Metamaterial for enhanced seismic protection of buildings

该项目为现有和新建筑的隔震和能量耗散提供了一种负担得起的替代技术。这个创新团队(i-Corps)将探索一种新的超材料的商业化，以增强建筑物的抗震保护。超材料是一种人造材料，它具有独特的特性，源于其内部结构的优化设计。超材料在汽车、航空航天和重型机械工业等领域有着广泛的应用。例如，当将超材料植入建筑物时，该项目的超材料能够吸收地震时地面震动产生的大部分振动能量，并释放结构构件的应力，从而防止结构破坏。这种超材料通过低成本的制造过程生产，是一种负担得起的技术，将把新的和现有结构的抗震能力提高到迄今为止仅在关键建筑和基础设施中实现的水平。建筑物业主将受益于这项技术的使用，增强了安全性，降低了维修成本，并在地震后扩大了可操作性。这项技术的大规模使用将使社区对地震具有更强的韧性，并减少美国和世界各地地震事件的社会和经济影响。超材料通常由塑料和金属等复合材料组装而成，以实现更好的材料性能。然而，该团队的技术依赖于使用高温钎焊由现成钢部件制造的超材料，以降低成本实现所需的设计要求。由壳、板和支承芯组成的单元单元的分层周期性组装被用来模拟橡胶状的弹性，通过壳的滞回变形来增强能量耗散能力。通过优化各种设计参数，可以针对特定应用微调超材料性能，包括结构材料属性、壳体的几何形状、数量和间距、轴承芯的尺寸和几何形状。在建筑市场上提供低成本的增强型抗震防护技术，有可能促进增强型抗震防护系统的应用。这将减少重大地震事件后个人和社区的间接损失。NSF创新团队计划(i-Corps Teams)资源将通过对客户的访谈提供对这种地震技术在市场上的可行性的洞察、关于所需需求的信息、技术开发资金以及该技术商业化的过渡计划。

This project provides an affordable alternative to current technologies for seismic isolation and energy dissipation in existing and new structures.This Innovation Corps (I-Corps) team will explore the commercialization of a new metamaterial for enhanced seismic protection of buildings. Metamaterials are man-made materials which possess unusual characteristics, stemming from the optimal design of their internal architecture. Metamaterials have applications in a broad range of areas including the automotive, aerospace, and heavy machinery industry. For example, when inserted into a building, this project's metamaterial is capable of absorbing most of the vibration energy produced by ground shaking during an earthquake and releasing stresses from structural elements, thus preventing structural damages. Produced through a low-cost manufacturing process, this metamaterial is an affordable technology that will raise the seismic protection of new and existing structures to levels so far achieved only in critical buildings and infrastructure. Building owners will benefit from the use of this technology in terms of enhanced safety, reduced repair costs, and extended operability after earthquakes. Large-scale use of this technology will enable communities to become more resilient to earthquakes and reduce social and economic impacts of seismic events in the US and worldwide. Metamaterials are typically assembled from composite materials such as plastic and metal to achieve enhanced material properties. However, this team's technology relies on a metamaterial manufactured from off-the-shelf steel components using high temperature brazing to achieve desirable design requirements at a reduced cost. A layered periodic assembly of unit cells made of shells, plates, and bearing cores is used to mimic rubber-like flexibility, with augmented energy dissipation capability through hysteretic deformation of the shells. The metamaterial properties can be fine-tuned for specific applications through optimization of a variety of design parameters, including constitutive material properties, geometry, number, and spacing of the shells, size and geometry of the bearing cores. Availability of a low-cost enhanced seismic protection technology in the construction market has the potential of fostering the application of enhanced seismic protection systems. This will reduce individual and community indirect losses after major seismic events. NSF Innovation Corps Teams Program (I-Corps Teams) resources will provide insight, through customer interviews of the viability of this seismic technology in the marketplace, information regarding desired requirements, funds for technology development, and a transition plan for commercializing the technology.