Define:
our challenge is to create an earthquake-proof building that can withstand a lot of shaking. We only have $60 to spend on materials and we have to make the most of this. We are hoping to build a structurally sound and tall building, which will help us understand the architecture needed to build things in earthquake zones.
Brain Storm
our brainstorming consisted of different models and calculations of what we needed and what it would cost. Our brainstorming was nowhere near our final product but it was good to note down our ideas and do some trial and error. Our brainstorming was prior to our research, so we had no idea what would be the best structure or how to approach building it. I was originally more focused on the amount of spaghetti we used, and I feel that this first design would have failed as there is practically no support. I was also sold on the rectangular design as it seemed structurally sound, yet I was not properly thinking about base strength and supports.
Research
A lot of research and construction has been put into earthquake architecture in order to find the best shapes and structures to keep buildings standing. Many techniques are used in large industrial-sized buildings such as large foundation pillars, diagonal poles/panes, and other ways for buildings to sway without breaking.
When researching this is what we found:
Base Isolation
Base isolation is when we put a building on top of a large separate base in order to isolate the movement from the entire building. When movement hits, the base support moves a lot, but the building only moves slightly
Tuned Mass Damper
A tuned mass damper is a huge ball that is placed on the top of buildings (inside) in order to balance buildings when they shake. When a tower with a damper sways one way, the ball will swing the other way, balancing the building.
Key aspects:
- strong, flexible foundation base as it provides support for your entire building and makes it so when the earthquake hits, only the base moves around while your structure remains steady
- reinforce the building’s structure with diagonal cross braces as it counteracts pressure and pushes force, while also supporting tension and compression
- to reduce building sway by making sure at least 10% of the total weight of the building is resting on the foundation. if there’s not enough weight on the foundation the building will easily tilt and topple over
We also found out that
Triangles are the go-to shape for earthquake-resistant buildings. Their shape provides more resistance to twisting motions, reducing the swaying of a building during a quake.
make a flexible foundation: this makes it so when an earthquake hits only the base moves while the structure remains steady
Design
Our original design will involve triangles throughout the design as our research shows that triangles are the strongest shape. we also decided on a strong 3 pyramid base as our testing showed that they were very strong, which is necessary for a good base. we also made room at the top for a platform and kept the whole design relatively simple. we are hoping for our design to be roughly 52cm in height, and possibly 28cm in width. our purchases will include $41 going towards buying spaghetti sticks, and $18.7 for a stick of blue tack. our design will take up approximately 34 sticks altogether, which leaves 7 for any improvements we need to make.
In our second design, we decided to make a thew change to improve the tower’s design by making the layer intervals smaller, meaning the structure was stronger. We also added a pointy part that is used to counter the way the tower leans. Because of these modifications, we needed to buy more pasta and blue tack completely blowing our $60 budget.
Evaluate
Through many tests, we found that our original structure was stable enough to withstand a powerful earthquake but wasn’t tall enough. So remade our design to match the height limit in the criteria. Once we made our tower 60cm tall we focused on strengthening the structure by adding more supports like the spaghetti that I angled in the middle of each structure.