Earthquake Test- Building Better Homes — Improving Structural Engineering with Earthquake Simulator

Improving Structural Engineering with Earthquake Simulator January 1, 2007 — To develop designs that can survive extreme seismic events, and to devise retrofit solutions for older homes, civil engineers who specialize in structural design test realistic models of homes in earthquake simulators. They place the homes on two adjacent shake tables designed to move in three directions, creating realistic earthquake motions. Cameras and accelerometers measure the rate of movement. BUFFALO, NY — Homes are made to withstand the test of time. But the ultimate test is one that can survive a large-scale earthquake. And simulating an earthquake in a lab helps improve homes in real quake zones. Most people don't ever want to experience an earthquake. "I experienced a very strong earthquake in 1997 in Athens," Ioannis Christovasilis, an Earthquake Structures Graduate Student at University at Buffalo in NY, tells DBIS. "I was a little bit frightened, yes." University at Buffalo Structural Engineer Andre Filiatrault says, "We had an aftershock, maybe a magnitude five … That was pretty dicey. You felt the shaking work up." But today, Filiatrault is eager to watch an earthquake simulator shake this house to a magnitude 6.7 quake. The full-scale, fully furnished home is built like many in earthquake zones, but prone to damage. The test shows how much shaking a wood home can endure. Filiatrault says, "We shook this building past its so-called design level. We shook it to an extreme event <b>…</b>