A Protective Structure, Saver During Structural Collapse

In this paper a new protective structure is designed to save human life, in the event of the structural collapse due to an earthquake, terrorist attack or other catastrophic events. The life-saver device discussed here is a moment resisting 3-D steel or composite frames that encapsulates a single or double bedstead, board in the kitchen, worktable in the office or other cases as appropriate. The frame consists of a number of beam-columns of angle cross-section bolted together by gusset plates and topped with a thin steel plate or a rectangular rebar mesh. The collapse of walls and ceiling on top of this structure will result in large plastic deformations in various sections of the frame whereby the energy of the falling debris is dissipated. Despite these large deflections, no harm is inflicted upon the people sleeping inside the frame. The physical behavior of this new life-saving device under real situation of structural collapse also is modeled in ANSYS LS-DYNA software. Combined nonlinear analysis of the frame is performed under dynamic loads developed; the stresses and deformations are carried out. Austenitic twinning induced plasticity (TWIP) steel which has a good combination of both strength and ductility also has been used for modeling and designing this structure and the results has been compared with ordinary steels. The design is verified for the emergency limit state considering the safety of people inside the protective structure.