Protective system for protecting buildings against aircraft crashes

Abstract

A protective system for protecting a building from aircraft crashes and similar high-energy impacts includes a three-dimensional protective grid erected in front of a building wall at a distance therefrom and having interconnected beams. The protective system is supported on the building wall by a plurality of plastically deformable energy-absorbing elements and is therefore constructed in such a way that even an impact by a heavy four-jet engine aircraft, such as a Boeing 747 or Airbus A380, does not destroy the integrity of the building it protects.

1 . A protective system for protecting a building from aircraft crashes and similar high-energy impacts, the protective system comprising:
 a three-dimensional protective grid to be erected in front of and at a distance from a building wall, said protective grid including interconnected beams and a plurality of plastically deformable, energy-absorbing elements supporting said protective grid at the building wall;   each of said energy-absorbing elements including a steel tube disposed between said protective grid and the building wall causing a force transmitted to said protective grid when an aircraft strike occurs to act on said tube at least predominantly in a radial direction and to squeeze said tube together in cross-section.   
     
     
         2 . The protective system according to  claim 1 , wherein said protective grid is supported on the building wall exclusively by said energy-absorbing elements. 
     
     
         3 . The protective system according to  claim 1 , wherein said tube has a diameter in a range between 0.3 and 1.0 m and a thickness in a range between 10 and 50 mm. 
     
     
         4 . The protective system according to  claim 3 , wherein said tube has a tube interior and a core formed of crossed steel plates disposed in said tube interior. 
     
     
         5 . The protective system according to  claim 1 , wherein said protective grid includes:
 an inner grid plane disposed parallel to the building wall and formed of steel beams;   an outer grid plane disposed parallel to said an inner grid plane and formed of steel beams; and   further steel beams interconnecting said inner grid plane and said outer grid plane.   
     
     
         6 . The protective system according to  claim 5 , wherein said inner grid plane and said outer grid plane are spaced apart by a distance in a range between 10 and 15 m. 
     
     
         7 . The protective system according to  claim 5 , wherein said inner grid plane and said outer grid plane each include a respective regular rectangular grid having elementary cells with identical dimensions, said elementary cells of said inner grid plane and said elementary cells of said outer grid plane being displaced relative to one another by half a lattice constant in at least one direction. 
     
     
         8 . The protective system according to  claim 7 , wherein said elementary cells have a width in a range between 10 and 15 m and a height in a range between 5 and 10 m. 
     
     
         9 . The protective system according to  claim 7 , wherein said inner grid plane and said outer grid plane each have respective nodes, and said further steel beams are diagonal beams respectively extending from a node of one of said grid planes to a node of another of said grid planes for interconnecting said inner grid plane and said outer grid plane. 
     
     
         10 . The protective system according to  claim 1 , wherein a plurality of said interconnected beams support said protective grid on the ground. 
     
     
         11 . The protective system according to  claim 1 , wherein said interconnected beams of said protective grid have a double-T or rectangular cross-section with dimensions in a range between 400 and 1000 mm. 
     
     
         12 . The protective system according to  claim 1 , wherein said protective grid is spaced apart from the building wall by a distance in a range between 0.3 and 2.0 m.