Prizes And Awards
Intelligent Wallpaper Distinguished
The project "Seismic Wallpaper – Intelligent Earthquake Protection" at the Institut für Massivbau und Baustofftechnologie (Institute for Solid Building and Building Materials Technology) at the KIT receives the award "Ausgewählter Ort" (Selected Site) 2011 in the competition "365 Orte im Land der Ideen" (365 Sites in the Country of Ideas).
"The aim of the intelligent wallpaper is to protect people from collapsing brick buildings or from parts falling down from such buildings", explains Moritz Urban, an engineer involved in the project. The wallpaper consists of a textile material with fibres aligned in four different directions and is applied using a special mortar. This results in a building being able to absorb significantly stronger earthquakes. Optical sensors woven into the wallpaper register cracks. That way it can be assessed after an earthquake has happened, whether the wall structure has been damaged. If required, damage then can be repaired in a targeted manner.
A two-storey building in the Italian city of Pavia provided the KIT researchers with proof that this earthquake protection system, which was developed together with external partners, works. During the first test without the wallpaper, the building nearly collapsed after an acceleration of 0.4 g. Subsequently, the same building was outfitted with the seismic wallpaper and tested again. Even after 0.6 g acceleration only insignificant damage occurred, which could be detected by means of the sensors.
"Deutschland – Land der Ideen" (Germany – Land of Ideas) is the joint initiative of the Federal Government and the German industry under the patronage of the Federal President.
