Earthquake Proof House

Reported November 2007

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- People in California know all too well the aftermath of a powerful earthquake. Despite major improvements to building codes, and existing structures, there is still the threat of serious damage and possibly, loss of life. Engineers are working to design better buildings, able to withstand whatever Mother Nature has to offer.

On a specially built “shake” table, architectural engineers study historical quakes on a mini-scale. Then in a basement laboratory they test a life-size wall, mounted on a special rack. The goal here is not to improve the frame -- but everything that fills it. Shards of glass and other debris pose a serious threat.

“Most of the damage or breakage in the glass starts at the corners where the glass panels interact with the holding frame,” Ali Memari, Ph.D. architectural engineering professor at Penn State University, told Ivanhoe.

These engineers designed glass panels that don’t touch the corners of the frame. By rounding the glass corners and polishing the edges, researchers found the glass curtain walls would have fifty-percent more “drift capacity”, meaning the frame could move fifty percent more before the glass would break.

Researchers are also testing infill walls -- the bricks and masonry inside a frame. A tight fit between the infill and the frame means there’s a higher chance the wall will be damaged during a quake. But if builders leave a gap, the wall loses support. That’s why professor Memari has designed what he calls “fuses” for the walls -- tiny lumber or concrete discs mounted between the wall and the frame. The fuses provide support, but still allow some wiggle room.

“When the force that is transferred from the frame to the wall exceeds the capacity of the fuse, the fuse breaks and the wall is safe. You can change the fuse after an earthquake,” Dr. Memari said.

Penn State engineers have a patent pending on the glass curtain walls. They are still researching the infill wall “fuse” system.

The American Geophysical Union, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology and, the Materials Research Society contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report.

Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:

Ali M. Memari, Ph.D., P.E., Associate Professory
The Pennsylvania State University
(814) 865-3367
amm@engr.psu.edu

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
IEEE-USA
Washington, DC 20036-5104
(202) 785-0017
http://www.ieee.org
ieeeusa@ieee.org

The American Society of Civil Engineers
Reston, VA 20191-4400
(703) 295-6404
http://www.asce.org

American Geophysical Union
Washington, DC 20009-1277
1 (800) 966-2481
http://www.agu.org

Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology,
Taber, Education & Outreach Program Manager
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 682-2220
taber@iris.edu

Materials Research Society
Warrendale, PA 15086-7573
(724) 779-3003
webmaster@mrs.org

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