Science: Does the "Golden Triangle" of the earthquake right or wrong?

In the face of the furthest forces on the earth's surface, how can we build ourselves?

If the most basic life insurance for their evacuation and survival knowledge earthquakes, past, DCH (Drop lie down, get down, Cover masking cover, Hold on Hold, hold) has been considered the most reliable and simple The method is also a knowledge that we have been accustomed to in the past. This is the correct concept.

Every time after Taiwan has suffered an earthquake that has caused casualties both at home and abroad, various plausible ideas for disaster prevention and evacuation will begin to fill the air in various media and public speeches, plus the accelerated development of the Internet. The transfer of the "Golden Triangle" theory, in which the network was extremely popular after the Great 921 Earthquake, has once again become a topic of discussion. First of all, the "Golden Triangle" theory is wrong!

What is the "Golden Triangle" of earthquakes?

The legendary “Golden Triangle” is based on the theory that when a building collapses and hits an object or piece of furniture, it will leave a space underneath them. The bigger and stronger the impacted object is, the smaller it will become when it is squeezed and deformed. The smaller the object is squeezed and deformed, the larger this space is, and the greater the possibility of a person who uses this space from being injured. This space is the legendary "Golden Triangle."

According to relevant reports, Doug Kopp, the captain of the rescue team of the 9/11 incident in the United States , put forward: When the building collapses, people should not hide under tables and bed cabinets, but should hide behind these items and keep their bodies at a minimum area. Because the formation of a so-called "Golden Triangle" there can be used to minimize the risk of being embarrassed. Even after the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, the "Life Triangle Life-saving Law" spread widely on the Internet in various forms. Again, the "Golden Triangle" theory is wrong!

Why is it wrong?

Why is it wrong? Let's start with the risk factors of the earthquake. What is the number one killer of the earthquake? Has anyone ever heard of someone who has been “directly killed” by the earthquake?

In fact, the main killer of human death caused by the earthquake comes from our "built environment"! When our built environment encounters an earthquake, it will face two major threats:

The first is non-structural threats, such as items falling, bruising, heavy furniture dumping or displacement.

The second is structural threats, including the collapse of buildings and the settlement of floors.

With this understanding first, let's take a look at the fault of the Golden Triangle.

When the "Golden Triangle" becomes "Death Crossing"! ?

The biggest problem in the Golden Triangle comes from its own three assumptions about the theory itself!

False Assumption 1: The "Golden Triangle" assumes that all buildings will collapse and crush all the furniture inside after they encounter an earthquake.

As we mentioned earlier, when the built environment encounters an earthquake, it will face two major threats. The first is non-structural threats, such as items falling and bruising, heavy furniture dumping or displacement.

The second is structural threats, including the collapse of buildings and the settlement of floors, but before structural threats occur, they must occur first or with unstructured threats.

(i) Non-structural threats: Including items falling, bruising, heavy furniture dumping or displacement.

According to the comprehensive statistics made by earthquake survivors, the most dangerous (most frequent) damage to the earthquake is not the roof or floor of the building that has collapsed, but the furniture and broken glass flying around, falling, and displacing.

So, when the earthquake strikes, you must rush to the bottom of the table or use a cushion to hold the most fragile head, or firmly hold the table leg and prepare for a large table movement. This refuge measure is more reliable. The past is what we are promoting DCH (Drop lie down, get down, Cover masking cover, Hold on Hold, hold) method. The "Golden Triangle" did not fully consider this most frequent situation!

The face of the threat of non-structural, since in the past we are promoting this method of evacuation measures DCH more reliable, "Golden Triangle" is completely not take into account the most frequent case this happened!

(ii) Structural threats: Buildings collapsed and floors collapsed.

1. If the building is a brick structure

When this type of structure encounters an earthquake, the collapsed brick and clay material will become crushed or blocky, and it will fall directly downwards, so it is impossible to create a golden triangle space around the furniture. In addition, the material of brick clay is lighter than concrete, and it is harder to squash the furniture or the tabletop you hide. Therefore , the suggestion of “ DCH ” hidden under the table is more useful than “triangular life” hidden in the cabinet or table. .

2. If the building is a reinforced concrete structure

If the floors of such building structures collapse, it is easier to create a golden triangle space. Indeed, in this case, the " DCH " proposal may be risky, because its heavy ceiling or floor may squash all those who are hiding under the table, sofa or bed, and beside the destroyed furniture It is possible to create a minimal viable space. Therefore, the "Golden Triangle" proposal may only be established in this situation.

In the face of structural threats, the DCH method is still relatively reliable, and the “Golden Triangle” is almost only present in the collapse of reinforced concrete structures. It is more likely to survive, but it is only possible and not absolute.

However, do you think that it is the golden triangle as long as it is at the table or on any side of large furniture?

Mistake 2: The "Golden Triangle" assumes that the public can predict whether their buildings will collapse or not, and determine where the gaps in the survival of the Golden Triangle will be created after the buildings collapse.

The following figure shows that a reinforced concrete building collapsed. Let's look at the middle table. Which side is the golden triangle that really survives? In terms of after-effects, the red triangle on the left side of the table does form the golden triangle, but what about the right side of the table? Did you know beforehand that it will be squeezed by the right cabinet? Hiding under the table will not be higher survival rate? If even the tables are collapsed, they will be flattened like the next level. You still cannot know in advance which side is the golden triangle that can really survive.

Mistake 3: The "Golden Triangle" assumes that people can move to their desired hiding places as they wish, in the event of strong shaking and shaking.

When a building collapses in a rare event, people in the building can't predict in advance that the building will form a void after it collapses. However, before the building has collapsed and collapsed, people cannot move to them quickly and safely because of strong vibration and shaking. If you want to hide, it is very likely that the person will fall or be injured during the movement.

to sum up

When a house is struck by a seismic wave, it may happen to shake in all directions. The collapse is also divided into several types: the flat roof collapses, the wall collapses, the wall falls down, and the roof M -shaped bends down. Therefore, despite observing the ruins caused by the earthquake, we can find that there are indeed similar “Golden Triangle” spaces in some locations.

However, at the time of the earthquake, people could not know in advance the way of the earthquake and the direction of the collapse, and there was no way to know where there was a so-called “Golden Triangle” space. Too much emphasis on the "Golden Triangle" space may bring an obvious problem that the support that you hoped to support the "triangular" may soon fall down!

Finally, once stressed, the "Golden Triangle" theory is wrong!

DCH (Drop lie down, get down, Cover masking cover, Hold on Hold, hold) is the most reliable, and easiest method, but also the knowledge we have been accustomed to in the past, this is the right concept!

The information in this article comes from the Internet and was reorganized and edited by China Rescue Equipment Network.