The FlexBlox macro-architecture holds promise in decoupling a building’s structure from the shaking ground and reducing earthquake-related damage through several mechanisms:
- Controlled and reversible ductile properties could allow the material to absorb some of the kinetic energy of the seismic event.
- The ability to enable small, prescribed amounts of six-degrees-of-freedom motion has potential to reduce the magnitude of structure uplift and the velocity of the subsequent impact.
-In response to ground motion, the material might be ‘tuned’ to allow carefully controlled rocking, which in turn reduces the tendency of a structure’s mass to overturn.
-Properly placed FlexBlox ‘pads’ could provide some isolation between adjacent structures that may vary in height and resonant period, thus reducing the tendency of the structures to non-harmonically strike each other.
-When used as a ground-stabilizing layer, Flextegrity’s material could help mitigate damage due to liquifaction and failure of water-saturated sand and/or mud. A single, fully-integrated layer could simultaneously stabilize non-conforming soil, increase load-bearing capabilities, and reduce entrance of water run-off from uphill. To further prevent unwanted soil saturation, the material’s regular open architecture would enable insertion of horizontal perforated pipe into the lattice.
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