I-Corps: Bio-inspired ground anchor technology

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种受生物启发的地面锚技术。地锚是许多挡土墙和建筑基础的结构组件，通过将这些力传递到周围的土壤来抵御试图将结构从地面上拉出的力。这种力被称为拔出载荷。传统的地锚可以用简单的工具和部件很容易地制造和安装，但它们在抵抗拔出荷载方面并不是很有效。一种经济上具有竞争力的替代方案，必须安装几乎同样简单，并且在材料使用方面更加高效。这项拟议的技术使用了一种受生物启发的根部设计来满足这些标准。根系的几何设计比传统地锚的圆柱形外部界面更有效地抵抗拔出载荷。这项拟议的技术寻求在更短的粘结长度内开发出比传统锚杆更高的抗拔承载能力。较短的锚使用更少的水泥和钢材，需要更少的钻探，消耗更少的柴油，安装需要更少的工作时间。这个i-Corps项目是基于一种受根启发的地面锚系统的开发。原型已经在实验室和初步的现场试验中进行了研究，它们已经证明了安装、扩展和加载生物启发系统的可行性。正在进行的研究重点是利用数值模拟和仪表式锚的现场测试将该技术扩大到完全现场规模。拟议的锚杆由三个主要部件组成：与传统地面锚杆中使用的钢索或钢筋相同的受力元件；膨胀的根部机构，它最初是圆柱形的，但在安装过程中会扩张，以模仿植物根部的几何形状；以及水泥灌浆，它使系统变得坚硬，并保护其部件免受腐蚀。某些植物物种的根系比目前用于民用基础设施的任何地面锚都更有效地将有机体固定在土壤中；相对于根系的质量，它们抵抗拔出载荷的能力非常高。拟议技术的扩展根机制寻求使用这些根系统的几何原理来比传统地面锚的圆柱形外部接口更有效地抵抗拔出载荷。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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 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.