(DISC) Demountable, Resilient, and Sustainable Construction Technology for Next- Generation Biologically Inspired Buildings

Although the most advanced design standards and recent construction methods ensure that buildings save lives during extreme events, recent statistics have shown that the global loss caused by extreme events is steadily growing. This proposal presents a novel, Demountable, Resilient, and Sustainable Construction (DISC) technology for next-generation infrastructure. The DISC, which is inspired by the anatomy of the human spine, is formed of a multi-storey pin-pin steel frame building and a core shear wall that is manufactured offsite and assembled on the construction site. The wall consists of i) precast composite segments (vertebrae), ii) thin layers of a new, high-performance polymer-based, entangled composite wire material (ECWM) between the segments (intervertebral discs), and iii) unbonded post-tensioning tendons that tie these two layers together. Thus, the vertebrae provide lateral stability of the structure under low-amplitude loading (e.g. wind) and damp the vibration resulting from trains in adjacent areas. When the building is subjected to extreme loading such as earthquakes, the intervertebral discs are compressed and damp the movement of the whole structure, and the tendons re-center the entire building. Thus, the building remains operational immediately after extreme events, i.e. it is resilient. The DISC is also sustainable and durable against environmental threats as it is composed of glass fibre reinforced polymer filled with fibre-reinforced concrete and low-carbon composite materials. To characterise the dynamic behaviour and design parameters of the DISC technology, a numerical parametric model is first constructed, and the mechanical properties of the ECWM will be characterised using full-scale material tests. The overall response of the DISC will be verified through medium-scale shaking table tests of DISC prototypes. From these results, a new sustainability and resilience-based design framework will be constructed that can be used.