The design mechanisms and methods of the invention are intended to minimize problems related to the safety of structures in the event of natural phenomena such as earthquakes, tornadoes, and strong winds.
It is achieved by controlling the deformations of the structure.
Damage and deformation are closely related concepts since the control of deformations also controls the damage.
The invention controls deformations even if the earthquake has a long duration and intensity.
Adjusts the displacement at the limits of the elastic displacement region, preventing inelastic displacement.
According to the invention, this is achieved by a continuous pre-tensioning between the upper ends of the side walls and the foundation ground by joining the two parts into one body, like a sandwich.
Prestressing intensities are applied by anchoring and pulling mechanisms.
They consist of pre-tensioning tendons, which penetrate freely, the sides of the walls (with the help of pipes) as well as the length of drillings under them.
The lower ends of the tendons are anchored to the depths of the boreholes with mechanisms such as expanding anchors.
The upper end of the tendons is placed on the sides of the upper level of the walls, and is pre-stressed with hydraulic mechanisms, which impose compressive loads on the cross sections of the walls.
The traction of the tendons by the hydraulic mechanisms located at the upper ends of the sides of the walls, as well as the reaction to this traction coming from the lower anchored ends of the tendons at the depths of the drillings, create the connection of the walls with the ground.
1) The columns have great elasticity when the bending moment acts on them.
They usually bend and are unable to receive dynamic lateral seismic loads.
In a combination of walls and columns all lateral dynamic loads are received from the walls, because the columns are elastic and recede.
That is why the walls are the first to fail, and they do not fail because they do not have elasticity, but because they take on all the loads.
The columns receive only the static loads of the building.
2) The walls initially show little elasticity when the bending moment acts on them, and then they resist dynamically to the lateral seismic intensities.
3) Elongated large walls are considered to have a diaphragm function, that is, they are almost rigid.
4) Structures that consist entirely of reinforced concrete, are considered completely rigid structures with almost zero period.
The bending moment should theoretically be reported for columns and walls. In completely rigid constructions with diaphragm function for me the bending moment is wrong and I replace it with tipping torque
To avoid deformation which causes failures, I try to use large elongated walls in the design of the structures as well as completely rigid structures with a diaphragm function that have the perfect rigidity.
There is no failure without deformation so rigid structures should be the strongest structures in the earthquake, since they have great strength towards the earthquake. But this practically does not happen. Rigid structures are the first to fail in an earthquake.
Why is this happening?
We will look at these reasons below.
A rigid and high-rise building in a strong earthquake is more easily overturned than a building of the same size that rests only on elastic pillars.
Why is this happening?
The columns store seismic energy and release it in the opposite direction in each new seismic charge cycle, as does the spring. Rigid columns are overturned when the tipping torque is greater than the stability torque.
The dynamics of the walls are canceled due to overturning and the intensity is transferred to the horizontal load-bearing elements and the dynamics are taken over by their small cross sections.
That is, from the point of stability, when the wall passes to the point of tipping and then, the transfer of forces is diverted to all horizontal elements, with which the wall joins at the nodes.
When they begin to receive seismic loads, the horizontal elements react with torques in the opposite direction.
First they receive the stresses by reacting with elasticity, then with leaks until they exceed the breaking point and the construction collapses.
Here are the following remarks.
a) When the walls lose their eccentricity, they deflect the forces in the small cross sections of the horizontal elements and break them.
b) The dynamics of the wall trunks are great, but the dynamics that they could offer is canceled because they are easily overturned and beyond that the dynamics depend on the dynamics of the of the horizontal elements.
c) If we increase the cross sections of the horizontal elements to increase their dynamics, the inertia of the structure and the intensities of the earthquake also increase. This is a problem If we want to defeat the earthquake we must increase the dynamics of construction and reduce seismic loads.
We reduce the seismic loads with horizontal seismic insulation, and with the reduction of mass and height.
We reduce the mass by using light materials in the masonry such as the alpha block.
There is a problem for the increase of the dynamics, because by increasing the mass of the cross section that would give us additional dynamics, the seismic lateral forces also increase.
Solution to the problem.
If we can not increase the dynamics by increasing the mass, we can increase the necessary dynamics by drawing it from an external factor, that of the ground and transfer it to the construction with tendons and mechanisms of traction and anchoring.
This external force has no mass and does not create additional tensions of inertia.
It is transported on the construction for six reasons.
a) To help as an external force (without mass) the dynamic response of the structure, controlling the seismic displacements.
b) To deflect seismic forces outside the structure and send them into the ground, before they are directed to the weak small cross sections of the horizontal elements and break them.
c) To increase the dynamics of the walls to
1) the stability forces,
2) the bending moment forces
3) the shear base forces and the shear failure.
d) To increase the bearing capacity of the soil where needed.
e) To control the coordination of construction and ground.
f) To ensure the control of the displacements of the floors, so that they always remain inside the elastic displacement area in which no failures are observed, as well as to ensure the smooth oscillation of the structure preventing the creation of phase difference .
Cost.
It is the big factor that determines the design method of a construction.
As I said before, the method I propose is effective in rigid dynamic constructions (due to rigidity and because if we join all the sides of the wall with the ground, they also get a double lever which reduces the stresses), but they are expensive because they have a lot of concrete. Prefabricated houses, which are completely rigid and industrialized, have managed to reduce costs by half the cost of conventional constructions with pillars.
If the prefabricated houses put my patent, they will become seismically shielded and will be able to develop an unlimited number of floors in height.
Imagine if they became prefabricated skyscrapers, how much their cost would fall and how much their earthquake protection would increase.
Question
And why can't we build high-rise prefabricated buildings in seismic areas?
And why does the height of the prefabricated buildings not exceed two floors in seismic areas?
Answer 1) Tall rigid buildings such as prefabricated buildings are easily overturned.
2) They do not have beams to bend them, and what happens in combination with their dynamics is the following.
During the displacement, with great rigidity, (instead of bending the beams) there is a tendency of overturning which causes the rotation of the base foot, in the whole area of the construction.
At this stage two things can happen.
1) The overturning of the structure if it is high
2) With the partial overturning of the structure, most of the base loses its support from the ground.
The result is, 1) the overturning moment of the building, in contrast to the other opposite direction of torque, which is created by the vertical static loads, unsupported by the ground, create a huge shear failure that destroys the weakest sections, those above the nodes, of the window doors.
The method I propose stops the overturning of rigid buildings and the construction does not lose the support of the ground because it makes it one with the ground like a sandwich!
Experiment 2.41 g natural earthquake, with the method I suggest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoM5pEy7n9Q&t=27s Experiment Without the new method
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-X4tF9C7SE&t=9s
Research. New knowledge in seismic technology.
1) I introduce a new external force without mass, coming from the ground, onto the structure, to help the structure to respond to the earthquake and to receive and deflect seismic loads, outside the structure, into the ground, thus controlling the displacements of the structure which deform it above the breaking point and knock it down.
2) I built a mechanism which is the first mechanism in the world that has the ability from the foundation surface with the help of hydraulic jacks to exert horizontal pressure on the ground towards the slopes of a borehole, along its entire height, and at the same time to exert vertical pressures on the ground surface, before the construction of the project.
The result of this technique is to compact the ground from the foundation surface and in all directions, in order to stabilize on the one hand and to obtain a strong anchorage of the mechanism, twice the design intensities. Filling the borehole (after condensing) with concrete offers a deep foundation higher than the width they make today, because it has the ability to receive greater intensities of compression and traction.
3) I am the first to insert the double pre-tension using the same pre-tension tendon. I apply the first pre-tension between the ground surface and the anchoring mechanism, and the second pre-tension between the nodes of the top level and the anchor that preceded the ground. The result is that the construction joins the ground like a sandwich.
This mechanism does not differ from the prestressed cantilevers of the bridges which rest on pedestals.