Development of a Metastructure-inspired Steel Structural Fuse for Delaying Shoring Collapse

Collapses of temporary shoring systems on construction sites remain a serious safety concern worldwide. To mitigate this risk, a novel structural fuse inspired by metastructures exploiting snap-through buckling is proposed to delay their collapse. The fuse functions by introducing a plateau region in the load-displacement response of shoring systems. Comprehensive finite element simulations are conducted and validated through experiment to characterise the fuse behaviour. Based on these results, practical design expressions are derived. The effectiveness of the proposed structural fuse is further assessed at both component and system levels, demonstrating its potential to enhance safety and resilience of shoring systems.