Experimental Study on the Performance of Polyurethane-Steel Sandwich Structure under Debris Flow

Abstract

Polyurethane-steel sandwich structure, which creatively uses the polyurethane-steel sandwich composite as a structural material, is proposed to strengthen the impact resistance of buildings under debris flow. The impact resistance of polyurethane-steel sandwich structure under debris flow is investigated by a series of impact loading tests, compared with that of traditional steel frame structures. Additionally, further discussions regarding the hidden mechanism are performed. During the whole impact process, as for steel frame structure, the impacted column appeared obvious local deformation both at its column base and on the impact surface, leading to remarkable decrease of its impact resistance; while the stress and strain of polyurethane-steel sandwich structure develops more uniformly and distribute further in the whole structure, maintaining excellent integrity and impact transmission capability. The impact loading tests confirm that polyurethane-steel sandwich structure possesses superior impact resistance under debris flow. This is of great practical significance for the prevention and reduction of geological disasters.

Application of the Wave Propagation Approach to Sandwich Structures: Vibro-Acoustic Properties of Aluminum Honeycomb Materials

“…Figure 4 shows an example of wavenumbers (absolute values) obtained from Equation (14). (14) (beam data source: [27], except laminate thickness, assumed 1 mm for both leaves).…”

“…Although the ability of building new products from the combination of different layers seems to be unlimited, sandwich structures have always been considered as challenging materials, and the challenge is two-fold: on the one hand, to make such materials easy to produce at the industrial scale without sacrificing performances and taking into account possible problems due to the manufacturing technology [11,12] and, on the other hand, to be able to design, characterize and quality-check them by using new approaches [13] able to give a good description of the behavior also under non-standard conditions (see for instance [14]). For this reason, this enormous potential is rarely fully exploited in civilian sectors mainly due to the cost of design, prototype-making and testing activities, thus sticking to off-the-shelf options that do not completely fulfil the application requirements.…”

Vibration Reduction of an Existing Glass Window through a Viscoelastic Material-Based Retrofit

“…In addition, viscoelastic damping materials found many applications in automobile and aerospace structures [37]. Viscoelastic dampers (VEDs) were demonstrated as effective in providing structures with considerable damping to reduce vibration due to wind-induced, seismic, and other excitations [38][39][40][41][42][43][44]. However, all these devices are mechanical systems with many parts, and they are not suitable for glass window panels due to their aesthetic, weight, and dimension requirements.…”

Performance Assessment of a Developed Brake Frame Based on the Application of a Proposed Equivalent Model in a Net Protection System for Debris Flow

“…It causes damage to the people, property and structures [1]. In order to minimize the damage, research work is currently going on to predict the phenomenon of debris flow and develop its countermeasures, such as protection systems.…”