Building Anchor Coupling Joint With Frictional Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing building anchor systems are too rigid and do not accommodate lateral movement during earthquakes, leading to potential structural failure and damage, especially in structures like ancient buildings where minimal intrusion is required.
Innovation Solution
A building anchor system comprising elongate anchor rods with a coupling joint that allows for adjustable frictional movement, enabling the anchor rods to separate during severe earthquakes while maintaining rigidity, featuring a sleeve, slideable arm, closed slot, and frictional adjustment means to dissipate energy and prevent catastrophic failure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If rigid anchor rods are used to strengthen building walls, then the building resists minor earthquakes well, but the anchor rods cannot accommodate lateral movement during major earthquakes causing structural failure
Solution Approach 1:
The anchor rod coupling joint incorporates a slideable arm that can move within a sleeve along a closed slot, allowing the anchor rods to dynamically adjust their position during earthquakes. This dynamic movement capability enables the system to accommodate lateral displacements while maintaining structural integrity, resolving the contradiction between rigidity for minor earthquakes and flexibility for major earthquakes.
Solution Approach 2:
The frictional adjustment means allows the coupling joint to change its frictional resistance parameter. During normal conditions, high friction maintains rigidity and strength. During major earthquakes, reduced friction enables the slideable arm to move, allowing energy dissipation through controlled deformation, thus preventing catastrophic failure.
2Reliability
If frictional adjustment means is added to allow anchor rod movement, then energy dissipation during earthquakes is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The slideable arm is received within the sleeve, and the closed slot is formed within the arm or sleeve structure. The frictional adjustment means is integrated into the coupling joint assembly rather than being a separate external mechanism. This nested arrangement provides the necessary movement and energy dissipation capabilities while minimizing the overall increase in device complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The anchor system effectively absorbs energy during major earthquakes by allowing anchor rod separation, reducing the likelihood of structural failure and allowing for periodic adjustment to maintain optimal rigidity and energy dissipation.
Implementation Method 1
frictional adjustment means acting between the arm and the sleeve by which they may be joined and by which the force required to move them with respect to each other can be selectively varied
Data Source
AI summary
A building anchor system includes a pair of elongate anchor rods (1,2), an anchor rod coupling joint (3) for joining the anchor rods end-on-end, the anchor rod coupling joint comprising or including a sleeve (4, 5, 6&7) for connection to an end of one of the anchor rods (1) a slideable arm (8) receivable in the sleeve for connection to an end of the other anchor rod (2) a closed slot within the arm or sleeve for slideably receiving the free end of a stop member (13) by which movement of the anchor rods along their major axis is possible to the extent allowed by the length of the slot, and frictional adjustment means (6,7) acting between the arm and the sleeve by which they may be joined and by which the force required to move them with respect to each other can be selectively varied. The invention also extends of a method of preventing or inhibiting catastrophic structural failure of a building by installing one or more anchor systems of the type described.