Extreme situations such as earthquakes, floods or terrorist attacks require more resistant buildings. These events cause severe damage to structures and can cause a building to collapse like a house of cards. To face the challenge of ending vulnerability and minimizing human and material losses, science and engineering have come together in a work carried out by researchers from the polytechnic university of Valencia. The authors have sought inspiration in the animal world and imitate the ability of lizards to detach themselves from their tails to escape from predators. “We released a part to save 10,” he explains Joseph Adamengineer and research leader. They publish their results today in Naturethe showcase of the best world science, which dedicates its cover to them in a historical milestone, as it is the first time that the magazine allocates that space to research in the field of building design and construction.
The team has devised a new construction system that can prevent the collapse of an entire building by ensuring that, in the event of a catastrophe, the failure is localized to the damaged region without propagating. The method is intended for application in critical buildings such as hospitals, shopping centers and bus terminals, where there is a large concentration of people. Furthermore, this technique does not increase construction costs. The project, called Endure, has been funded by the European Research Council with a grant Consolidator Grant of more than 2.5 million euros. Initially, it arose thanks to a Leonardo Scholarship awarded by the BBVA Foundation to Adam in 2017.
When a building is affected by severe weather conditions or accidents, the impacted part causes a domino effect that ends up affecting the rest of the building. Current designs attempt to prevent the failure from propagating by connecting the structure to compensate for the damage. However, this idea, although effective in the first instance, can end up causing the entire structure to completely collapse. But what if there was a way to stop the dominoes? This is the question that researchers from the Polytechnic University of Valencia asked themselves.
A unique opportunity to test the results
The team of scientists and engineers has devised a collapse isolation system based on hierarchy, the key to which lies in the implementation of structural fuses, which allow the building to be segmented in the event of failure. According to Adam, this design philosophy is similar to protecting electrical networks using fuses. His technique has been validated through a test on a real building—15 by 12 meters in plan, with two floors 2.6 meters high—using prefabricated reinforced concrete. It is the first solution of its kind tested and verified at full scale.
To do this, they put their building through two phases of testing in June 2023. In the first, they removed two columns that were not adjacent to each other at the same time. In the second phase, they removed a corner column that was among those removed in the first phase. This initiated a collapse in all areas directly supported by the missing columns, but not in the rest of the building. That is, they successfully prevented the entire structure from collapsing.
“It’s like preparing for the Olympic Games,” says Adam regarding the rehearsal. He thus compares the long preparation stage required for a single test that only lasts a few moments: “There are four years of work that are summarized in two seconds. The collapse of a building lasts only that, two seconds,” he explains. The team will be able to carry out two more tests to test its effectiveness with other materials such as in situ concrete and steel.
Thus, the method has proven effective in preventing complete collapses. “It seems simple and logical, but it means turning common construction practices on their head,” he says. Antoni Claderaprofessor of Construction Engineering at the University of the Balearic Islands, who has not participated in the research and celebrates the results of his colleagues: “There are investigations that are not seen as much as others, but they also help save lives,” he expresses. .
The challenges ahead
While celebrating his team’s achievements so far, Adam is aware of the long road ahead. The technique is far from being implemented, since construction is a highly regulated sector and modifying regulations is complex. Cladera agrees: “A lot of work awaits them to convince researchers and construction companies.” However, both engineers remain positive thinking about the future and do not rule out that the method could even go further: “Surely the same principle can be applied to other structures such as bridges. “We all need and want to feel safe,” reflects Cladera.
Now, seven years after the start of the project, it continues in development in the structures laboratory of the Institute of Concrete Science and Technology of the UPV until 2026. The research represents a significant step towards constructing safer buildings and preserving human lives in extreme situations. Magazine Nature highlights that the approach will make buildings more resilient and therefore “meets the primary goal of structural engineering, which is to protect the safety of the public.”
You can follow SUBJECT in Facebook, x and instagramor sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
#Lizard #strategy #inspires #system #build #collapseproof #buildings