A Vector-Based Structural Safety Measure

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Building collapse is a common phenomenon associated with multiple disasters, including those caused by natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, and landslides, as well as technological hazards such as sub-standard construction and maintenance practices. Over the past 50 years, there have been 181 building collapse disasters in 51 nations, with an average of 8 building collapse disasters occurring annually, resulting in 343 deaths/year.  Hence, improving the safety of a wide range of constructed facilities such as buildings, bridges, earth structures, offshore facilities, dams, and nuclear structural systems is of utmost importance.

This invention describes a software platform that uses a novel set of algorithms to help determine resilient measures for building structures. The vector-based method considers various failure modes concerning the probability of a hazard occurrence associated with multivariant safety parameters, including structural reliability index, survivability/stability, progressive collapses, performance level, and risk assessments. The inventors have developed a software prototype and shown feasibility through laboratory simulations.  

Competitive Advantages

• A novel software that uses the reliability and survivability safety metrics to rank and prevent the collapse of buildings and bridges. 
• Potential to improve the design of buildings and other large structures, thereby reducing or eliminating catastrophic failure from natural disasters and technical design flaws.

Opportunity

• The market for architects and builders' software was $3.5 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $6.3 billion by 2028.
• A growing focus on business intelligence and CAD software by engineers, architects, and builders has accelerated the adoption of new technologies and standards within the construction industry.

Rowan University is seeking a partner(s) for further development and potential commercialization of this technology. The inventor is available to collaborate with interested companies.