The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 16, 2003
Filed:
Jul. 10, 2001
Gregor D. Fischer, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Victor C. Li, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Other;
Abstract
A collapse-resistant frame system ( ) for a bridge or building structure includes a plurality of mechanically-interconnected columns ( ) and beams ( ). At least the lowermost columns are formed of a material ( ) that exhibits quasi-elastic behavior in response to seismic excitation, while the beams of the frame system are formed of a material ( ) that exhibits elastic/plastic behavior, such that quasi-elastic flexure of the columns under seismic loading will cause plastic hinge formation in the beam ends ( ) to thereby dissipate the rotational energy without significant plastic hinge formation in the column bases. In a disclosed embodiment, the column material is an engineered cementitious composite (ECC) matrix ( ) reinforced with fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) ( ) to thereby provide a relatively-high flexural strength member having a relatively-lower flexural stiffness and higher elastic deformation limit, while the beam material is an ECC matrix reinforced with mild steel rebar ( ) to thereby provide a relatively-lower flexural strength member featuring high energy-absorbing capacity.