I-Corps: Bio-inspired ground anchor technology

I-Corps：仿生地锚技术

• 批准号: 2224250
• 负责人: David Frost
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: Georgia Tech Research Corporation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-06-01 至 2024-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2224250&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Corps; Bio; inspired; ground; anchor

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a bio-inspired ground anchor technology. Ground anchors are a structural component of many retaining walls and building foundations that resist forces attempting to pull the structure from the ground by transferring those forces to the surrounding soil. Such forces are called pullout loads. The conventional ground anchor may be fabricated and installed easily using simple tooling and components, but they are not highly efficient at resisting pullout loads. An economically competitive alternative to conventional ground anchors must be nearly as simple to install and more efficient in its use of materials. The proposed technology uses a bio-inspired root design to meet these criteria. The geometric design of root systems resists pullout loads more efficiently than the cylindrical external interfaces of conventional ground anchors. The proposed technology seeks to develop higher pullout load capacities than conventional anchors within a shorter bonded length. Shorter anchors use less cement and steel, require less drilling, consume less diesel fuel, and require fewer working hours to install.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a root-inspired ground anchor system. Prototypes have been studied in the lab as well as in preliminary field trials and they have demonstrated the feasibility of installing, expanding, and loading the bio-inspired system. The ongoing research is focused on scaling-up the technology to full field-scale using both numerical simulations and field tests on instrumented anchors. The proposed anchor consists of three primary components: a stressing element identical to the steel cables or bars used in conventional ground anchors; an expansive root mechanism, which is initially cylindrical but expands during installation to mimic the geometry of plant roots; and cement grout, which gives the systems stiffness and protects its components from corrosion. Certain plant species have root systems that anchor the organism in the soil much more efficiently than any ground anchors currently used in civil infrastructure; Their capacity to resist pullout loads is very high relative to the mass of the root system. The expansive root mechanism of the proposed technology seeks to use the geometric principles of these root systems to resist pullout loads more efficiently than the cylindrical external interfaces of a conventional ground anchor.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.

该I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发以生物启发的地面锚技术的开发。地面锚是许多固定壁和建筑基础的结构组成部分，这些基础可以抵抗试图通过将这些力传递到周围土壤中的力量将结构拉出的力。这样的力称为拉力负载。传统的接地锚可以使用简单的工具和组件轻松制造和安装，但是它们在抵抗拉力负载方面的效率不高。传统地面锚的经济竞争性替代品必须几乎同样简单地安装，并且在使用材料方面必须更有效。拟议的技术使用以生物启发的根设计来满足这些标准。与常规接地锚的圆柱外部接口相比，根系的几何设计更有效地抗拉力负载。拟议的技术试图在较短的粘合长度内发展出比常规锚的更高的拔出负载能力。较短的锚使用较少的水泥和钢，需要更少的钻孔，消耗少量的柴油燃料，并且需要更少的工作时间安装。此I-Corps项目基于开发根源的地面锚固系统。在实验室和初步试验中已经研究了原型，它们证明了安装，扩展和加载生物启发的系统的可行性。正在进行的研究重点是将技术扩展到使用仪器锚上的数值模拟和现场测试的全场尺度。所提出的锚包括三个主要组件：与常规接地锚相同的应力元件；一种膨胀的根机制，最初是圆柱形的，但在安装过程中会扩展，以模仿植物根的几何形状。和水泥灌浆，它使系统刚度并保护其成分免受腐蚀。某些植物物种具有与目前在民用基础设施中使用的任何地面锚的根系，可以更有效地锚定土壤中的生物。相对于根系的质量，它们抵抗拉力负荷的能力非常高。 所提出的技术的宽阔根源机制试图使用这些根系的几何原理比传统地面锚的圆柱形外部接口更有效地抵抗拉力负载。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的智力功能和广泛影响的评估来评估CRETERIA的评估。