Name: Niharika Aggarwal Student ID: 09476874 Section: T01H

Air Levitation System for houses

Introduction: Billions of people have lost their houses in earthquakes. They saw the houses they built with their lives savings turn into debris in a matter of seconds. Sichaun in 2008, Haiti in 2010, Japan in 2011 and Mexico in 2012 have shown to us that the damage is only increasing with time. Seismic protection of buildings has although seen significant advances in the past couple of years, the number people left homeless by the movement of tectonic plates has increased exponentially. Even with the advancement in technology, why has the damage not been mitigated adequately? The seeds of this damage lie in the principles of the International Building Code for seismic design [1]. According to the code, the building or structure should be designed such that a minor earthquake causes no damage to it, a moderate earthquake may cause repairable damage and a severe earthquake can cause extensive damage without making it collapse [1]. Therefore

conventional structural engineering techniques expect controlled damage. The extent of controlled damage is predicted by the possible severity of an earthquake that can hit the region. When an earthquake of magnitude greater than anticipation hits, the damage cant be controlled and is sometimes beyond economic repair [2]. This creates the needs for a design that shields the building from an earthquake of any magnitude causing zero damage. Our innovation, Air levitation for earthquake prone houses, completely eliminates the risk of damage from seismic activity by lifting up or levitating the entire structure during an earthquake such that its unaffected by the ground shaking aggressively below it.

Technical Description: According to the laws of Physics a moving body can transfer its momentum to another body when they collide or come in contact and a force is exerted, otherwise a body at rest tends to stay at rest and a body in motion tends to keep moving. This is the underlying principle of our innovation. If we can completely isolate the house from the ground, and make it float in air, it will not be affected by the seismic activity in the ground under it. A floating house may sound fantastical but modern technology has made it possible to levitate an entire train example, Maglev in Shanghai [3]; lifting a house should be comparatively easy. The mechanism behind this house levitation system is simple. The levitation model will consist of a sensor network, an air compressor and an artificial second foundation. The foundation will be above the ground, but beneath the home's bottom level, about 5feet high and just wide enough for the house to fit into it and rest on it. When an earthquake hits, three things happen- First the rumbling of the earth is detected by the sensors installed in the walls and base of the house. The sensors then send a message to the air compressor tank which opens an air vault. In less than half a second, the air tank pushes a volume of compressed air in-between the artificial foundation and the actual structure of the house. This air can lift the house up and make it rise up to three centimeters above the foundations, hence isolating it from the quaking earth. While the ground shakes violently, the house above is rests on a steady cushion on air patiently waiting for the earthquake to stop. Finally when the seismic activity ceases, the air is slowly pumped out and the house returns back to its foundation safely with the help of a positioning device, as if the earthquake never happened.

Potential and limitations:

The levitation model is the only way a structure can completely protect itself from the seismic activity. It is ideal for small houses, schools, hospitals, labs and buildings were the interior is of great importance as even slight tremors can cause objects to fall leading to injuries. Compared to the modern technologies that allow controlled damage, this system will ensure hundred percent protection and stability. A person sitting inside the structure will not even realize the city was hit

by an earthquake. Another important advantage is the cost. Since the model requires only sensors and a pump to work, the total cost of implementing it will only be one-third the cost of conventional earthquake resistant technologies. This innovative design is very reliable as the sensors used are really sensitive and trigger the compression tank pumping as soon as they detect rumbling. Since the pump is electricity driven, backup batteries are installed with the compressor to ensure that power failure doesnt affect the pumping. But because the model relies on compressed air to float the building, it might not be possible to implement this system in high rises or skyscrapers. The scope of the house-levitation system is limited to buildings with low height over width ratio. A possible concern with this model is the stability of the artificial foundation. Though the house itself is not affected by the earthquake, its foundation make suffer from severe damage or horizontal displacement if hit by a quake of a large enough magnitude. In that case, the house will not have a safe, flat ground or base to return to. To avoid this problem, we have thought of integrating another emerging technology called the LBR or the Lear-rubber bearing mechanism with our innovation. This heavy damping mechanism will suppress both horizontal and vertical vibrations providing greater stability to the foundation, enhancing the overall seismic performance of the whole structure. This revolutionary levitation model has great potential in earthquake prone areas like Sichuan and Haiti where most houses and buildings are small in size and conventional technologies like the Tuned Mass Damper is neither available nor affordable.

Conclusion: For centuries, we have been trying to fight natural disasters and have developed technologies to lower the impact of these disasters and minimize the damage caused by them. But till date, there exists no technology that can isolate our surrounds from the disaster, such that natural disasters like earthquakes cant affect our lives. This innovation, the Air-Levitation system is step in that direction. This system detaches the building from the quaking earth making it float until it is safe to land back on the ground. This cost effective, easy to build system, is the best technology available for small and medium sized independent buildings. The system can be integrated with other emerging or even existing technologies to ensure hundred percent protection against earthquakes, because if we dont aim for hundred percent safety, damage cant be avoided.

References: 1. (2008) Journal of the international association for bridge and structural engineering (IABSE) Vol18. No.2, May 2. Royal Commission of inquiry (2011, August) Base isolation and damage-resistant technologies for improved seismic performance. 3. The International Maglevboard (2012, May). The International Maglevboard[online]. Available: <http://maglevboard.net/>