Compressed-Air Rigid Building Blocks

Abstract

The outstanding tensile strength of some materials are used in compression applications by using air pressure to supply the outward force on an enclosure and by using interior tension members to maintain the geometry of the air-pressurized structure. The air pressure on each face of the structure is balanced by the tension in the tension members. Due to the high modulus of the tension members, the air-pressurized structures are very rigid. It is the air pressure that actually supports any load placed on the structure, but it is the tension members that maintain the geometry when the load is removed, and the strength of the tension members determine how much air pressure can be sustained. The mass of tension material required in such a structure is roughly equivalent to the amount of filament material required in a cable to support the same load. The Compressed-air Rigid Building Blocks can be stacked like bricks to form strong, lightweight walls, buildings, towers, and other structures.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Patent Provisional Application No. 61 / 046,878, filed Apr. 22, 2008, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]For load-bearing structures, we normally need materials with high compressive strength. However, in order to use these materials effectively, large masses are required. A filament, a wire, or a cable of the material would be useless in the compressive mode. There are materials that have very high tensile strengths that can support large loads as a cable, if the support is supplied from above the load. Unfortunately in practice, most loads are supported from below. I propose herein a method for using the high tensile strengths of some materials to support loads in the compressive mode. This means that building blocks could be much lighter than the standard load-bearing materials such as masonry bricks, concrete, or steel beams. (Since “w...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0013]To provide a perspective, we can make a comparison to a steel cable. An ordinary steel cable, one square inch in cross sectional area, can safely support 10 tons of weight. If it is suspended from a crane 100 meters high, the cable will weigh 1,116 lbs. It can support 17.9 times its own weight. Compare this with the 10 by 10 by 10 foot CARBB. The unit can support 1,080 times its own weight.

[0023]It is another object of the present invention to utilize rigid structures for inexpensive construction of convection towers for the generation of electric power.

Problems solved by technology

High air pressure in an air bag can support heavy loads, but they are very compressible (spongy).

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