proTeCTive faBriCS - TenCate

geoSynTheTiCS
Constructions
Geotextiles from TenCate Geosynthetics saved lives during the 9/11
attack on the Pentagon in Washington DC, although this attack still
claimed 189 lives. The impact of the assault blasted through three of
the five rings of the building and damaged some 400 steel support
columns. The plane obliterated the first and a part of the second floor
when it crashed. The third, fourth, and fifth floors, however, remained
suspended in mid-air for 35 minutes allowing hundreds of people to
escape.
The Pentagon dates back to 1943. Renovation work started in 1993
and part of the remit was to strengthen the structure with steel and
geotextile-based wall panels. Before embarking on the renovation,
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TENCATE SOLUTIONS
the engineers approached TenCate for samples of various
geotextiles, and from the tests in their research centre in Mississippi,
the TenCate Geolon ® HS1715 geotextile emerged as the best and
most resistant to attacks and rubble. Exacting scale models were
built and then miniature explosions were set off to determine the
effectiveness of each design.
The US Army Corps of Engineers (COE) at that time studied numerous
terrorist attacks. Each of the past terrorist assaults taught the COE
something new about designing building structures to survive such
attacks. One of the most significant discoveries was the devastating
impact of flying debris. The final redesign of the Pentagon building
was to reinforce the outer ring with floor-to-ceiling steel beams.
Between those beams and within the walls, panels of a high strength
polyester geotextile were placed.