I am working on a project for making a device for immuning buildings from earthquakes.
2007-04-04 20:30:11 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Engineering
One way is to make buildings flexible and elastic enough to absorb the earthquake motions and eventually return to design positions. This can have terrible effects on people and objects inside the building. It would also produce a building with excessive wind sway.
Another way is to construct buildings rigid enough and strong enough in both tension and shear to ride the earthquake like a ship at sea.
Shock absorbers can augment both designs, as well as contemporary designs.
Lastly, remember the lesson of the Titanic: There ain't no such thing as unsinkable!
2007-04-04 21:06:40 · answer #1 · answered by Helmut 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well I think when it comes to Mother Nature, no matter what sort of preventative measures you take, if she's going to throw a fit (aka natural disaster), it's all going down. Right now I believe buildings in earthquake-prone areas are being built on shock absorbers, to lessen the effects of the ground moving (and minimize building collapse). Basically I think that's the best we're going to get at preparing our structures to withstand strong earthquakes.. and maybe we shouldn't be building major cities (like San Fran) right on a MAJOR fault...
2007-04-05 03:47:37 · answer #2 · answered by dreamin delux 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Learning from the Japanese, who undergo plenty of earthquakes, it's all about dispersion. It's hard to build tall, because if you do it's hard for the movement to be dispersed evenly on something so tall. If you must, it should have some give to it, it should sway just a little bit to let it "shrug off" that movement.
People used to think it was all about strength and solidity, but they crumble quickly because they are so stiff and rigid. After they are forced to move, they fall apart. Picture a building made of bricks and a building made of jello. Which one will hold up longer? One will crumble, one will just shrug off the movement.
2007-04-05 03:55:20 · answer #3 · answered by C.G. Triggs 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you can put shock absorbing foundation pillars that act not unlike suspensions on a car to stabilize the building and keep it from collapsing. Also, you could put cross braces on the sides of the building all the way up for structural support.
2007-04-05 03:38:24 · answer #4 · answered by NArchy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Design a building which is floating : ) make use of the anitgravity concept to levitate it.
2007-04-05 03:58:23 · answer #5 · answered by silts 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Give some springs under its floor,
2007-04-05 04:00:53 · answer #6 · answered by Dexter 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋