Historically a target for earthquakes, Italy has also become an epicentre in the search for ways to reduce or prevent the loss of life and property when these sudden and unpredictable events occur.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The latest breakthrough in this effort is the \u201cseismic wallpaper\u201d – thin, woven material made of glass and plastic fibres that is glued to walls to increase their resistance to cracking and collapsing. This type of textile can also be used to strengthen dikes and embankments built to prevent landslides and floods.
Leading this revolutionary effort is the EU-funded project POLYTECT, or Polyfunctional Technical Textiles against Natural Hazards. The initiative united researchers from 12 countries not only to help save lives and structures, but also to revive a struggling industry.
\u201cTextile makers are experiencing difficult times these days because of low-cost competition from Asian countries,\u201d says POLYTECT\u2019s coordinator Donato Zangani, of the Genoa-based engineering firm D\u2019Appolonia. \u201cSo we thought: how can we develop textiles that can be used to reduce the damage caused by earthquakes, while also opening new markets?\u201d
The idea worked. Zangani\u2019s team discovered a way to weave together glass and plastic fibres in three different directions. This means that the protective wallpaper can support buildings regardless of the direction that earthquake waves travel.
POLYTECT researchers also developed a way to weave fibre-optic sensors into the wallpaper that use signals from lasers to monitor the health of walls – before, during and after an earthquake.
\u201cThe sensors can tell us if something happened to the wall and, if so, where the failures are,\u201d explains Zangani. \u201cThey can also tell us whether a building is still safe.\u201d Data from the sensors not only can help maintain existing buildings, but also help make new structures more earthquake-resistant.
The wallpaper was exhaustively tested at the European Centre for Training and Research in Earthquake Engineering in Pavia, Italy, which has a \u201cshake table\u201d that gauges the ability of structures to withstand violent jolting.
\u201cWe built a two-story stone-masonry house, about 5 metres high \u2013 similar to the buildings in historical areas of central Italy. It nearly collapsed when we shook it,\u201d says Zangani. \u201cThen we repaired the house and covered it with seismic wallpaper. When we shook the building again, it cracked but remained intact. The shake table was not able to break it.\u201d
Because they are rigid and brittle, masonry buildings can crack and collapse very quickly during an earthquake. \u201cThe key to the seismic wallpaper is that it absorbs and dissipates some of the energy from the earthquake,\u201d says Zangani, \u201cwhile providing more give-and-take to walls.\u201d The wallpaper, which is paintable, is several millimetres thick and glued to internal or external walls with about 1 centimetre of mortar-based adhesive.
Tests have shown that POLYTECT\u2019s material can increase more than three times the structural strength of buildings, and give cracked walls extra strength to withstand the seismic action. Similar textiles can also be incorporated into dikes and other earthen barriers to prevent or lessen flooding and landslides – and, like in buildings, use sensors to identify weak spots and provide an alarm in case of impeding failure.
The seismic wallpaper is now available on the commercial market in several countries, including Italy, which is Europe\u2019s top producer of textiles, and in Germany, which is Europe\u2019s top manufacturer of textile-making machines.
\u201cThere is potential for the wallpaper to be used more widely,\u201d concludes Zangani. \u201cWe have developed several products now being used in industrial settings.\u201d
This innovation was made possible by Israel\u2019s continued participation in the official Horizon 2020 fund, managed in Israel by ISERD part of The Israel Innovation Authority (Formerly the Office of the Chief Scientist and MATIMOP). The initiative has taken Israeli R&D to the next level with the help of ground-breaking collaboration between scientists in Israel and Europe, as well as essential funding and support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Background Project acronym: POLYTECTHistorically a target for earthquakes, Italy has also become an epicentre in the search for ways to reduce or prevent the loss of life and property when these sudden and unpredictable events occur. The latest breakthrough in this effort is the \u201cseismic wallpaper\u201d – thin, woven material made of glass and plastic fibres […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","geographic_location":[96],"collaboration_opportunities":[99,100],"technologies":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Project details<\/strong>
Project acronym:<\/strong> POLYTECT
Participants:<\/strong> Italy (Coordinator), Germany, Sweden, Norway, Romania, Belgium, Israel, Czech Republic, Greece, Switzerland, Spain, India
Proj. N\u00b0<\/strong> 26789
Total costs: <\/strong>\u20ac 10 153 058
EU contribution:<\/strong> \u20ac 6 599 769
Duration:<\/strong> September 2006 – August 2010<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"