Recent earthquake damage has exposed the vulnerability of
existing structures to strong ground movement. At the Georgia
Institute of Technology, researchers are analyzing shape-memory
alloys for their potential use in constructing seismic-resistant
structures. “Shape-memory alloys exhibit unique characteristics
that you would want for earthquake-resistant building and bridge
design and retrofit applications: they have the ability to
dissipate significant energy without significant degradation or
permanent deformation,” said Reginald DesRoches, a professor in
the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Georgia
Tech. Georgia Tech researchers have developed a model that
combines thermodynamics and mechanical equations to assess what
happens when shape-memory alloys are subjected to loading from
strong motion. The researchers are using the model to analyze
how shape-memory alloys in a variety of components — cables,
bars, plates and helical springs — respond to different loading
conditions. From that inf