The researchers calculated that the proposed umbrellas would remain stable when faced with a wall of water about 75% of their deployed height of 26 feet. Source: Princeton UniversityTo protect against future storm surges, a team from Princeton is developing plans for kinetic concrete umbrellas to be placed along coastlines, offering shade under normal conditions and behaving as a flood barrier or seawall under stormy conditions

The team from Princeton is proposing that shells of 4 in thick reinforced concrete in a hyperbolic paraboloid shape — a structure that curves outward along one axis and inward along another axis — hinged at the vertex where the column meets the umbrella, will be capable of “tipping” to offer a shield against storm surges.

To demonstrate how the umbrella structures would serve the dual purpose of offering shade and then shielding against storm surges, the Princeton team used computational modeling to gauge the effectiveness of the structures. Researchers amassed storm surge data from 1899 to 2012 along the East Coast, using the data to model an 18 ft tall storm surge. During simulations of the storm surge, researchers determined that physical models of the umbrellas remained stable.

As the team continues to develop plans for the kinetic umbrellas, they will consider building the structures using sustainable materials. They will also consider how to add sensors and actuators to the structures to determine how well the umbrellas perform and to enable the structures to capture both solar energy and stormwater.

The research appears in the Journal of Structural Engineering.