BEUN Faculty of Engineering faculty members Prof. Dr. Şenol Hakan Kutoğlu and Dr. Three years ago, after the buildings shook during earthquakes, Seda Akduman started working to quickly determine whether the entrances to the buildings were dangerous. As a result of the studies, the team developed a device 2 years ago that determines whether the shaking of the building is dangerous during the earthquake by attaching the accelerometer to the load-bearing elements of the buildings.
The patent process of the device has been completed and 'A System and a Method for Rapid Building Damage Detection After an Earthquake' has been registered by TÜRKPATENT. The invention provides information about whether the building is in danger in new earthquakes by processing data about the building such as location, number of floors, and building materials, measuring the shaking experienced with the accelerometer and evaluating the relationship of the building with the predetermined oscillation period. The aim of the invention is to provide scientific and technological contribution to the rapid evaluation processes needed after earthquakes. Prototype development and mass production processes for the patented device are ongoing.
Prof. Dr. Şenol Hakan Kutoğlu said, "Ground tremors cause the structures above ground to shake more or less, but this does not mean that every tremor is dangerous. It is quite natural for buildings to shake. But at what point this tremor is dangerous, whether the building can withstand larger earthquakes or not; it is the job of experts to decide. As we see in ourselves and in our own families, our citizens often have discussions such as 'this earthquake shook a lot, I wonder if there is a defect in the building, is it dangerous?' We thought with our teacher Seda Akduman that we could design a device that would meet such needs of our citizens. Each building has its own natural oscillation period. If the earthquake waves reach this oscillation period, it is possible to operate the device by plugging it into a battery or socket. When you connect it to one of the load-bearing systems of the building, when there is an earthquake or other reason, this device records the shaking and compares it with the building's own theoretical natural oscillation period. "Whether this shaking is a dangerous shaking, whether it is a natural oscillation in the structural features of the building or an excessive oscillation, it sends information to our citizens via their mobile phones," he said.
Dr. Seda Akduman said, "After the February 6 earthquakes, we experienced this; civil engineers from all universities went to field work to evaluate the buildings. During this period, our people always had to stay outside, in tents or other places. With the product we patented, we aimed to do this; after the earthquake, the user will enter the floor and height of the earthquake, check how much his building shook or not, and compare whether it is too much or at an acceptable level compared to the period calculated by the initial staticist. Accordingly, the program will say, 'yes, the building "It has reached the targeted emission or has received more vibration than expected, therefore it may be damaged, it may be dangerous to enter the building" or "it does not pose a danger in entering the building", he said. "We will also remove the building stock in Turkey."
Explaining the working principle of the device, Akduman said, "The flat owner will plug it into a small USB socket and collect data via the internet. The device will continue to collect data continuously. For example, if there was an earthquake today, after leaving the building, the oscillation in the building in the past can also be controlled."
Expressing that they are in the prototype development stage and need investor support, Akduman said, "We have made the necessary software, found a low-budget accelerometer and started experiments, but we need a budget to turn it into a product. We need support in this regard so that this patent can be turned into a product and sold in mass production. We applied for the patent 2 years ago, and our patent was registered in August. From now on, we can start production."
