We are in 8th grade and have to build an earthquake-resistant model building. We have researched how real buildings are built, but how do we use this to build our model?
Ours is going to be tested on an earthquake simulator. I wish we could use marshmallows :)
What materials should we use? Is there some sort of happy medium between marshmallows and viscoelastic dampers?
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I remember doing a project like this.. i believe that i either used marshmallows(or play-dough) and toothpicks or I used pieces of wood, to which i hot glued guned it together...
guy
To be fair most houses are grounded. Will you be able to fixate the model (base) to the surface of the earthquake simulator?
Important aspect is detaching the ground base from the building itself. You want the building to stay where it is when the base and ground move. So, for example a building on wheels, (metal) ball bearing, or even on a liquid solution would separate the ground from the building.
Another aspect is how to deal with the vibrations and "get rid of motion energy". Any building motion energy you want converted to heat or used in another way. You may want to make the building flexible: For example by using springs.
It doesn't sound easy so good luck!