Hurricane Proof Homes

Introduction 

Have you ever seen pictures of a town or neighborhood that has been hit by a hurricane? Sometimes it looks as if there are no houses left at all, just piles of junk.

Even a Category 1 hurricane, with only 74-95 mph winds, can damage parts of well constructed houses. The strongest hurricane, a Category 5, has winds above 157 mph, and can destroy nearly every building in its path. These storms cause lots of damage and can hurt many people. It would be great if someone could invent a hurricane-proof building. There are several inventions that can help builders and architects do just that.

Two innovations that are being developed are bendable glass and Ultra-High-Performance Concrete. These innovations will be used to build homes that will make them more resistant to large natural disasters like hurricanes and even earthquakes. These innovations will help the global community because there are many hurricanes and earthquakes around the world.

There is a motive to why these two innovations were created but it is not stated anywhere. The motive might have been come up with better building materials to make buildings last longer. These materials could be helpful with many things but especially build homes and other structures.

These two innovations are needed to save money and reduce the cost of the average hurricane damage. Thomas C. Frohlich, a USA Today writer, writes in the article From Elena to Katrina: These are the costliest hurricanes to ever hit the US, “The cost of an average hurricane is $21.6 billion,”(Frohlich). This shows that something needs to be done to help get the cost of an average hurricane down. If these two innovations are put into use then houses will be able to stay standing for longer and will cause the average cost of a hurricane to decrease.

These two innovations will be used all across the world, helping many countries. These innovations are needed to save lives and money, will overall have a positive impact on the world.

These innovations could be used anywhere where there is a hurricane/typhoon, and earthquake. Hurricanes or typhoons occur most frequently in the United States, Philippines, China, and Japan.

The development of hurricane proofing homes is like the development of boats during the Renaissance and the Age of Exploration. These two both have to do with wind because the boats they used during those times used wind to power them and hurricane proofing homes are trying to build resistance against wind. When they were developing sails for boats they had to make them strong enough so they don't rip. This is like how bendable glass works they need to find a way for it to still be sturdy but be able to bend without shattering.
   

Bendable Glass

Bendable glass was invented by researchers at McGill University, and is now being developed in upstate New York. It can be used in the windows of hurricane-proof homes. Bendable glass will have a positive impact on the world because in many places around the world there are natural disasters where windows in buildings might break. Bendable glass will be able to withstand hurricane-force winds without breaking.

Bendable glass has engravings on it so little cracks don’t spread as easily as in regular glass. According to the article “Hurricane-Proof Construction Methods Can Prevent The Destruction Of Communities” Zach Mortice says,“These jigsaw-shaped engravings stop fractures from spreading, making the glass 200 times stronger than standard glass,”(Mortice). This quote shows how these little engravings on bendable glass make it much stronger than regular glass. A regular window can withstand about 75 mph winds, which is a category one hurricane, but  bendable glass windows will be able to withstand any category hurricane. 

 In the article “Hurricane-Proof Construction Methods Can Prevent The Destruction Of Communities” Zach Mortice continues to write,“Researchers at McGill University are studying bendable glass, which relies on engraved “microfissures” to allow it to bend without shattering,”(Mortice). This quote shows that these small engravings help it be stronger and even bend without breaking. It also says that bendable glass will be able to bend without shattering. Glass that can bend without shattering could be very beneficial because the window will be able to adjust itself to the way the wind is blowing and will be almost shatter -proof.

Ultra-High-Performance Concrete

 Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) was invented by the company LarfageHolcim under the name Ductal, and this innovation is still being developed in France. UHPC will be used to build sturdy foundations in new hurricane-proof homes. UHPC will have a very large impact on the world because it will give many buildings a very sturdy foundation that will almost crack resistant. This will be very useful in hurricane-proof houses and earthquake-proof houses as well.

UHPC is a heavy duty concrete that will be stronger for building foundations. In the article “Hurricane-Proof Construction Methods Can Prevent The Destruction Of Communities” Zach Mortice continues,“UHPC can bend and give yet is six times stronger than regular concrete,”(Mortice). This quote shows how much stronger UHPC is than regular concrete and how it can bend in different ways. The fact that it can slightly bend is a great thing because if there are very powerful winds the concrete will shift, lessening the tension on the building unlike regular concrete. When regular concrete foundation houses have high winds blowing against them the concrete doesn’t move or shift in any way so there is a much higher chance of collapsing.

UHPC’s ability to shift while still supporting what is above it is very important in hurricane-proofing a building. In the article “Hurricane-Proof Construction Methods Can Prevent The Destruction Of Communities” Zach Mortice writes, “The addition of carbon, metallic or polyvinyl alcohol fibers allows the material to bend and carry loads even after some cracking has occurred,”(Mortice). This is very important because for all concrete it is inevitable that it will crack. But if the cracking doesn’t spread as easily as regular concrete then it will be much stronger and last much longer through a high category hurricane and will also help out in other natural disasters like earthquakes. UHPC will be helpful in earthquake-proofing building foundations because even if there is a small crack in the UHPC, the crack and won't spread, making UHPC much stronger than regular concrete.

Conclusion

 If these two innovations are put to use when they are fully developed, they will save lots of lives and money. These innovations will save lives because they will be able to keep houses standing when there is a very powerful hurricane. If houses can stay standing longer through strong hurricanes then people will be able to stay in them longer with a lower risk of injury or death. These innovations will save money because the houses won't collapse as easily, which will mean when a hurricane hits the whole city won’t have to be rebuilt.

Citations

1. Frohlich, Thomas C. “From Elena to Katrina: These Are the Costliest Hurricanes to Ever Hit the US.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 14 Sept. 2018, www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/09/12/most-destructive-hurricanes-of-all-time/36697269/. 
2. Li, Victor. REFLECTIONS ON THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF ENGINEERED CEMENTITIOUS COMPOSITES (ECC) . pdfs.semanticscholar.org/aedc/325d9c611c7d2e35d24fe7ddf2d03af88882.pdf.    
3. Mortice, Zach, et al. “Hurricane-Proof Homes & Buildings: Construction, Design & Materials.” Redshift EN, 6 Feb. 2019, www.autodesk.com/redshift/hurricane-proof-construction-methods-can-save-buildings-communities/. 
4. “Bendable Fracture-Resistant Glass.” MOW, 2018, idsnmow.blogspot.com/2018/02/bendable-fracture-resistant-glass.html. 
5. Hollister, Sean. “This Glass Can Bend Tens of Thousands of Times without Breaking.” CNET, CNET, 17 Feb. 2016, www.cnet.com/news/schott-flexible-ultra-thin-glass-bends/. 
6. Yatin. “UHPC Offers Endless Possibilities.” Go to National Precast Concrete Association., 2014, precast.org/2014/11/uhpc-offers-endless-possibilities/.