Quake-proofing U.S. buildings
invention makes sense. Moreover, other technologies that require having more braces or even attaching bearings to the entire building can be twice as expensive,” he observes.
For many American cities on the west coast, earthquakes are a common phenomenon and the local civil construction industry keeps seeking ways to build schools and hospitals that are more earthquake-resistant.
Despite getting a U.S. patent in 2000 for his sleeved column braces, the light of Sridhara’s invention was hidden under a bushel, until Badri K Prasad, an Indian engineer based in California, took notice and started educating the local industry.
Prasad, a vice-president at California-based structural engineering consulting firm Thornton Tomasetti, helped spread the word about the technology in the United States and ensured that the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) adopted his invention as part of its code of practice in 2006.
“My colleague Rafael Sabelli was studying a similar technology from Nippon Steel and everybody thought it was invented in Japan, until I told them that it was actually invented by Mr Sridhara from Bangalore,” he says.
Until few years ago, Nippon Steel was charging as much as $4,000 to $5,000 for each brace. After signing the licensing agreement with Sridhara, Star Seismic and CoreBrace were able to bring down costs by nearly 30 percent. “Nippon Steel was trying to enter the U.S. market a few years ago, but they had no patent. Mr Sridhara had,” says Prasad.
As the number of floors in a building rises, the cost per brace keeps falling. For instance, a building with seven or more floors can adopt buckling restrained braces at $700 each, compared to nearly $1,100 for conventional braces.
Anil Gupta of IIM-Ahmedabad, who is also the executive vice-chairman of the Indian National Innovation Foundation, says that Sridhara’s invention must be adopted in countries such as India.
“What Mr Sridhara has achieved is remarkable; his invention is today influencing America’s construction industry,” he says. “This technology is not only applicable for big buildings, but also smaller structures in earthquake-prone areas across Gujarat and other states.”
Since buckling-proof design is needed in many other industries, Sridhara’s invention continues to find new takers. Recently, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) along with the U.S. Federal Railway Authority granted nearly $100,000 for conducting tests to validate the concept. “This can be used to design crash-worthy and shock-absorbing coaches and wagons,” says Sridhara.
The next step for Sridhara will be to get some Indian firms adopt the technology while constructing steel buildings. “We are currently in discussions with several firms, including L&T, and something would come out hopefully soon enough,” he says.
It has not been easy so far to bring Sridhara’s invention to India. When he contacted several Indian Railways officials in the country, he was asked to meet engineers at the railways factory in Perambur, Tamil Nadu. “When I met the engineers, they asked me to make a wagon myself and then demonstrate it,” he says.
Meanwhile, for Sridhara, the commercial success of invention means that he no longer needs to seek funds from others for experimenting and validating his inventions. “I am earning more than what I earned during forty years of my work life here and can now fund my ideas myself.”
What ideas is he working on now? A clog-free shower cap and an air relief valve without any ball float. He aims to develop both products in the days to come.
