I-Corps: Shaker Shield: An Innovative Technology for Inhabitant Protection in High Seismic Risk Areas

I-Corps项目更广泛的影响和商业潜力在于，它能够通过一种可充气、便携式、高强度的屏蔽装置，提供一种新的地震和山洪防护范例。这种创新技术可以被各种用户采用，包括个人业主、公司、非营利组织以及需要在区域和全球范围内减轻地震和洪水危害的决策者。以居民为中心的研究和开发将提高灾害准备水平，减少潜在的人员伤亡和经济损失。这项技术的商业影响预计将是巨大的，因为现有技术过于昂贵，而且难以扩展到更广泛的应用中。I-Corps项目所取得的技术进步，以及通过与潜在客户、工业制造商、减灾小组和灾害评估公司的互动收集的信息，将使小组能够加快将拟议的技术转化为市场。该技术和制造过程的设计、测试和原型制作将涉及在多学科研究和教育环境中对研究生和本科生进行培训。I-Corps项目基于一种屏蔽装置，该屏蔽装置由高强度专有的层压聚氨酯织物组成，可以在几秒钟内快速部署其全部容量，以减轻地震和洪水灾害。充气装置按照专门设计的串联和并联连接，以防止部分偏转引起的屏蔽倒塌和失效。不同几何形状和加载场景下的实验室规模盾构构件的计算预测和实验测试显示出可比的变形和应力响应。该项目的智力价值在于其(a)创造性的双重功能方法，解决以居民为本的地震和洪水灾害保护问题；(b)在盾体完整性和性能评估方面应用先进的计算技术；(c)在以最小投资容纳各种建筑类型和占用密度方面具有高度灵活性；(d)极有可能创造关于减轻多重灾害的充气结构的最佳设计和制造的新知识。通过揭示物理特性和系统响应之间的相关性，该技术将深入了解多种灾害缓解的复杂性，并填补灾害缓解和应急管理市场的现有空白。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is its ability to provide a new paradigm of protection from earthquakes and flash floods through an inflatable, portable and high-strength shielding device. This innovative technology can be adopted by various users including individual property owners, companies, non-profit organizations, and decision makers who are in the need of seismic and flooding hazard mitigation at regional and global scales. The inhabitant-centered research and development will enhance hazard preparedness levels and reduce potential casualties and financial losses. The commercial impact of this technology is expected to be significant because existing technologies are prohibitively expensive and less scalable for broader applications. Technical progress made in the I-Corps program, as well as the information to be collected through interactions with potential customers, industrial manufactures, hazard mitigation teams, and hazard assessment companies, will enable the team to expedite the translation of the proposed technology to the market. The design, testing and prototyping of the technology and the manufacturing process will involve training of students at both graduate and undergraduate levels in a multidisciplinary research and educational environment. This I-Corps project is based on a shielding device that is composed of high-strength proprietary, laminated urethane fabric and allows rapid deployment to its full capacity in the time frame of seconds for seismic and flooding hazard mitigation. Inflated units are connected following specifically designed series and parallel connections to prevent partial deflection-induced collapse and failure of the shield. Computational predication and experimental testing of lab-scale shield components with various geometries and loading scenarios show comparable deformation and stress responses. The intellectual merit of the project stems from its (a) Creative dual-functional approach that addresses inhabitant-oriented protection from seismic and flooding hazards, (b) Application of advanced computational technologies in shield integrity and performance assessment, (c) High flexibility in accommodating various constructions types and occupancy densities with minimum investment, and (d) High potential to create new knowledge regarding the optimal design and fabrication of inflatable structures for multi-hazard mitigation. By revealing correlations between physical properties and system responses, this technology will yield insights into the complexities of multi-hazard mitigation and fill in existing blanks in the hazard mitigation and emergency management market.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.