This project provides an affordable alternative to current technologies for seismic isolation and energy dissipation in existing and new structures.
This Innovation Corps (I-Corps) team will explore the commercialization of a new metamaterial for enhanced seismic protection of buildings. Metamaterials are man-made materials which possess unusual characteristics, stemming from the optimal design of their internal architecture. Metamaterials have applications in a broad range of areas including the automotive, aerospace, and heavy machinery industry. For example, when inserted into a building, this project's metamaterial is capable of absorbing most of the vibration energy produced by ground shaking during an earthquake and releasing stresses from structural elements, thus preventing structural damages. Produced through a low-cost manufacturing process, this metamaterial is an affordable technology that will raise the seismic protection of new and existing structures to levels so far achieved only in critical buildings and infrastructure. Building owners will benefit from the use of this technology in terms of enhanced safety, reduced repair costs, and extended operability after earthquakes. Large-scale use of this technology will enable communities to become more resilient to earthquakes and reduce social and economic impacts of seismic events in the US and worldwide.
Metamaterials are typically assembled from composite materials such as plastic and metal to achieve enhanced material properties. However, this team's technology relies on a metamaterial manufactured from off-the-shelf steel components using high temperature brazing to achieve desirable design requirements at a reduced cost. A layered periodic assembly of unit cells made of shells, plates, and bearing cores is used to mimic rubber-like flexibility, with augmented energy dissipation capability through hysteretic deformation of the shells. The metamaterial properties can be fine-tuned for specific applications through optimization of a variety of design parameters, including constitutive material properties, geometry, number, and spacing of the shells, size and geometry of the bearing cores. Availability of a low-cost enhanced seismic protection technology in the construction market has the potential of fostering the application of enhanced seismic protection systems. This will reduce individual and community indirect losses after major seismic events. NSF Innovation Corps Teams Program (I-Corps Teams) resources will provide insight, through customer interviews of the viability of this seismic technology in the marketplace, information regarding desired requirements, funds for technology development, and a transition plan for commercializing the technology.
