Intelligent Seismic Wallpaper
As seismologists often like to say, 'Earthquakes don't kill people. Buildings do'. The fact that most earthquake-related deaths are due to collapsing structures suggests there's still much work to do in seismic-proof design.
Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany agree, and have developed an earthquake-resistant wallpaper to give occupants more time to escape buildings when an earthquake hits. The material, called Intelligent Composite Seismic Wallpaper, is actually a textile that consists of glass fibers embedded in different orientations within a layer of mortar. The scientists produced the textile according to the framework of the POLYTECT (Polyfunctional Technical Textiles against Natural Hazards) EU project to reinforce the masonry walls of buildings in seismically active regions.
Depending on the availability and cost of a commercially produced version of the textile, the wallpaper could provide priceless insurance against loss of life in earthquake-prone hotspots.
The Intelligent Composite Seismic Wallpaper consists of a textile material with four different directions of fibers embedded in a mortar. It was developed specifically to reinforce brick buildings in areas prone to earthquakes. The purpose is to stabilize and return to use buildings suffering from seismic damage and problems of static stability. The textile-mortar reinforcement system can also be used, however, to protect intact buildings preventively. On top of that, it may be employed generally to cover cracks in buildings due, for instance, to settling.
At first glance, the material looks like an endless placemat, which someone has woven from plastic fiber: white, finely patterned and very thin. It's difficult to imagine that the material can protect walls from collapsing. Researchers at the Institute of Solid Construction and Construction Material Technology at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) claim it can do exactly that. The fine fabric is designed to support walls and distribute the powerful forces released by earthquakes across their entire surfaces and protect them from collapsing.
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The material must be very firm yet at the same time flexible and elastic enough to absorb the earthquake tremors. For this reason, the fabric consists of two components, according to Mortiz Urban, a co-developer and researcher at KIT: Very stiff, high-strength glass fibers, on the one hand, are woven into the wallpaper with a very thin, elastic polypropylene plastic, on the other. The fibers run in four directions, ensuring that the energy is distributed evenly.
If the earthquake is too strong, the glass fibers can tear apart, of course. In this case, polypropylene works as backup security. It prevents stones from falling from walls. Often, clumps of rocks and collapsed walls hinder people from trying to escape damaged buildings during earthquakes. Like proper wallpaper, earthquake wallpaper can be applied to a plastered wall, which can then be either painted or decorated with normal wallpaper. Since the material is highly porous, damp walls and the resulting mould pose no problems, according to Urban. Another variant of the earthquake wallpaper allows buildings to be covered with the material from the outside.
Requires Special Adhesive
Typical wallpaper glue is not suited for fixing earthquake wallpaper. Like the wallpaper, the glue must also be rock solid yet elastic. It must firmly secure the wallpaper to the wall but also swing when an earthquake tremor hits the wall.
The Intelligent Composite Seismic Wallpaper consists of a textile material with four different directions of fibers embedded in a mortar. It was developed specifically to reinforce brick buildings in areas prone to earthquakes. The purpose is to stabilize and return to use buildings suffering from seismic damage and problems of static stability. The textile-mortar reinforcement system can also be used, however, to protect intact buildings preventively. On top of that, it may be employed generally to cover cracks in buildings due, for instance, to settling.
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is a public corporation and state institution of Baden-Württemberg. It fulfills the mission of a university and the mission of a national research center of the Helmholtz Association. KIT pursues its tasks in the knowledge triangle of research, teaching, and innovation.
References:
http://www.dw.de/earthquake-wallpaper-can-save-lives-and-homes/a-15856326
http://www.architectmagazine.com/technology/german-scientists-design-earthquake-resistant-wallpaper_o
http://www.kit.edu/downloads/pi/PI_2010_044_engl_Intelligent_Wallpaper_against_Seismic_Damage.pdf