Highly Dissipative Materials for Damage Protection against Earthquake-Induced Structural Pounding

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Civil Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering

Background:

• Earthquake-induced structural pounding poses a significant risk to adjacent civil engineering structures, potentially causing severe damage or collapse.
• Viscoelastic materials offer an effective solution for preventing seismic pounding by filling the gap between buildings.
• There is a need for advanced materials that can efficiently absorb impact energy during seismic events.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and evaluate a new polymer-metal composite material for seismic pounding energy absorption.
• To investigate the performance of the composite with and without an adhesive interface under various loading conditions.
• To compare the energy absorption capabilities of the composite against uniform polymer and metal foam specimens.

Main Methods:

• Development of a polymer-metal composite using polyurethane and closed-cell aluminum foam, with and without an adhesive interface.
• Experimental testing including quasi-static compression, dynamic uniaxial compression, and low-cycle dynamic compression (10 loops at 10% strain).
• Comparative analysis of the composite's behavior against standalone polymer and metal foam specimens.

Main Results:

• The composite material with a bonding layer demonstrated improved maximum energy absorption efficiency by 34% (quasi-static) and 49% (dynamic) compared to a sole polymer bumper.
• The proposed composites dissipated 35%–44% of absorbed energy during cyclic loading, significantly outperforming the polymer specimen (25%).
• The composite maintained satisfactory dissipative properties throughout low-cycle loading, dissipating an additional 100%–300% of the energy from the first loading-unloading loop.

Conclusions:

• The novel polymer-metal composite is a highly effective material for seismic pounding energy absorption.
• The inclusion of an adhesive interface significantly enhances the energy absorption efficiency and cyclic performance of the composite.
• This material offers a promising solution for mitigating earthquake-induced damage in adjacent structures.