Photo by Sua Truong on Unsplash
Last week’s earthquake felt across Southeast Asia, including Bangkok, has not only brought attention to the importance of construction safety standards in earthquake-prone areas, but also has offered a unique and surprising glimpse into the role that water can play in urban design and resiliency.
During the 7.7 scale earthquake, the swimming pools atop some of Bangkok's high-rise buildings inadvertently provided a benefit that likely helped prevent excessive structural damage to the buildings. While primarily installed in new high-rises as a design and recreational aesthetic, these pools acted as a damping system during the earthquake and provided us with a unique example of another characteristic and use of water.
During periods of extended seismic activity, taller buildings sway with the earth’s tectonic shifting and we witnessed a phenomenon called "slosh damping." While Bangkok's rooftop pools were a happy unintentional side-effect of sway reduction, slosh damping is often intentionally engineered into high-rise buildings using Tuned Liquid Dampers (TLDs). These systems underscore water's capacity to absorb and dissipate energy.
In a TLD system, dedicated tanks (in this particular case a swimming pool) are filled with water and located near the top of a building. The dimensions and materials of these tanks, as well as the water level within, engineered to counteract match the building's natural sway frequency experienced from earthquakes, wind, or other seismic activity. This ensures maximum energy absorption. In some cases, the tanks can also serve a dual function as water reserves for fire suppression, improving overall building efficiency.
In last week’s earthquake, the volume of water in the elevated pools sloshed over the sides of the pool, cascading down to the street below. This generated counteracting forces to the building's motion, reducing stress on the structure and preventing further significant damage. This phenomenon and application underscores the diverse and sometimes unexpected ways in which our most vital renewable resource contributes in a multi-faceted way to our societal well-being and safety.
This is but one example of why the outlook for burgeoning careers and advancement in the water tech industry is positive and evolving. The development of engineering innovations like TLDs, combined with a growing market driven by an aging infrastructure and environmental concerns, will create opportunities in industries and disciplines such as engineering and construction/project management. In addition, the current and impending retirement wave will create opportunities for professionals focused on sustainability, with the interdisciplinary skills necessary to contribute to the industry's future growth and contributive success.
Beyond its essential role in public health and sanitation, water's unique physical properties offer potential solutions in areas like urban infrastructure resilience. Every day, there are opportunities for us all to witness the untapped potential that our most valuable resource provides. Not only sustenance and vitality, but contributing to structural integrity and as a dynamic part of our lives that can be harnessed to advance society and provide a more resilient future.
Written by: Bryan Winfrey, Search Consultant at Hunter Crown, LLC
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