The following includes a broadcast quality video package, a press release and fact sheet for the Dec. 11 earthquake simulation bridge test at the University of Nevada, Reno.
The experiment that subjected a 110-foot long, 200-ton concrete bridge model to a series of earthquake simulations was a success today as the final test applied motions and forces comparable to twice the intensity of the 1994 Northridge, Calif. earthquake. The simulated earthquake was delivered by the University of Nevada, Reno’s state-of-the-art shake tables in its earthquake simulation laboratory.
Video of the final shake test can be saved to your hard drive from one of several links below. The video includes the actual shake test, b-roll and sound bites from interviews with the principle investigator, the director of the Large Structures lab where the earthquake simulation occured and the Dean of Engineering.
Edited version of bridge video: Quick time bridge test
Television stations may download an eight-and-a-half-minute broadcast-quality video package in one of five formats to suit their needs. Please be patient as downloads may take some time.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO OPEN THE LARGE FILES FROM HERE; PLEASE SAVE TO YOUR DESKTOP FIRST BY RIGHT CLICKING THE URL AND THEN CLICKING ON “SAVE TARGET AS” TO SAVE THE FILES TO YOUR HARD DRIVE.
Web preview click here:
http://imedia.unr.edu/Media_Relations/Shake_Table_VNR.mp4
Standard Definition Mpeg2 Program stream codec, 516.2MB:
http://shake.unr.edu/Shake_Table_VNR_480.mpeg
Standard definition in DV25 codec, 1.8GB:
http://shake.unr.edu/Shake_Table_VNR_DV25.mov
1080HD Mpeg2 program stream codec, 995.4MB:
http://shake.unr.edu/Shake_Table_VNR_1080.mpeg
1080HD HDV Codec 1.58GB:
http://shake.unr.edu/Shake_Table_VNR_HDV_1080.mov
PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release: Dec. 11, 2008
110-foot concrete bridge destroyed in fake quake at University of Nevada, Reno
Researchers pleased with second experiment in series of tests
RENO, Nev. – At 11:04 a.m. today a rumbling was heard at the northeast end of the University of Nevada, Reno as an “earthquake” shook a four-span 110-foot concrete bridge with motions comparable to an 8.0 earthquake. The bridge was in the University’s world famous earthquake simulation laboratory.
The bridge, constructed over many months atop three enormous shake tables, is a test bed for cutting-edge construction technologies of the future. Many of the new materials–including nickel-titanium bars, elastomeric materials, and polyvinyl fiber concrete–are being tested in a bridge system for the first time.
The bridge columns swayed and cracked, with small chunks of concrete falling off the structure. The 400 sensors relayed gigabytes of data through 400 channels as the 10-second quake stressed the quarter-scale model bridge with its 60 cubic yards of concrete and 16,000 pounds of steel.
“These were all new designs, and we’ve learned they performed better than conventional construction,” Professor M. Saaid Saiidi, principle researcher said. “Of the three new designs we tested, two of them had very little damage, we are quite pleased with the results so far.”
This test is the largest of its kind in the United States. The test was part of a series of three tests of materials and design to make bridges safer. The first test in Feb. 2007 used a standard design bridge of the same size and the third bridge test will continue the look at new innovative designs and materials.
“There is no other facility in the country as big and with the equipment we have to conduct these types of tests,” Saiidi said.
Three 50-ton capacity shake tables acted in unison to shake the 200 tons of concrete and steel that swayed, buckled and cracked as twice the acceleration intensity of the 1994 Northridge, Calif. earthquake tore at the structure. The bridge model was shaken with bidirectional forces to realistically simulate an earthquake.
The UNR research team is taking advantage of unique features of materials such as nickel/titanium alloys, polyvinyl fibers mixed with cement, and rubber materials to potentially revolutionize seismic design of future bridges to help protect lives, prevent damage and avoid bridge closure even when there’s a strong earthquake.
“To save lives bridges are made so they do not collapse, even though they are no longer usable,” Saiidi, said. “The question is, what is the impact of having to close numerous damaged bridges in a city like New York, Los Angeles or San Francisco at a time when these bridges are needed the most for fire trucks, ambulances, and other emergency vehicles?”
The experiment is part of a larger multi-university project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the George E. Brown Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) research program. Other UNR faculty involved in the $2.4 million project are Dr. I. Buckle and Dr. G. Pekcan. Researchers from U.C. Berkeley, U.C. San Diego, Florida International University, Georgia Tech, Stanford University, Kansas University and University of Illinois, Chicago, Tokyo Institute of Technology, and the University of Ljubljana have been involved in other aspects of the project.
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FACT SHEET
Earthquake simulation bridge test
1) SHAKE TABLES
a. Table Size: 14 ft x 14 ft
b. Maximum Specimen Mass: 50 tons
c. Force Rating: 82 tons
d. Number of tables: three biaxial, used as a single unit
2) BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION
a. One-fourth scale
b. 210 tons (including additional weight placed on the span)
c. four spans
d. 110-feet long
e. 8-feet wide
f. 10-feet high
g. 60 cubic yards of concrete
h. 16,000 lbs of steel
3) DATA EQUIPMENT
400 channels of data sensors have been installed to monitor its shaking.
4) NETWORK
The project is part of the National Science Foundation’s George E. Brown Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES). The facility is managed as a national shared-use NEES equipment site, with teleparticipation capabilities, to provide new earthquake engineering research testing capabilities for large structural systems through 2014. This NEES equipment site is connected to the NEES Consortium of 15 other universities and the shared-use access and training is coordinated through the collaboratory.
5) FACILITY & EQUIPMENT
The NEES Equipment Site at the University of Nevada, Reno is a biaxial, multiple shake table facility (with three identical biaxial shake tables) that is suitable for conducting of research on long, spatially distributed, structural and geotechnical systems. The facility is also capable of testing conventional structural and non-structural systems by using the tables in large-table mode, and operating them as a single unit.
6) OUTREACH PROGRAMS
The University integrates this shake table equipment into its research program, undergraduate and graduate assistantships and internships, high school summer camps, and K-12 outreach. The University also provides training opportunities for outside researchers through on-site courses and workshops.
7) WHO
Civil and environmental engineering Professor Mehdi “Saiid” Saiidi is the principle investigator of the research project, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. The experiment is part of a larger multi-university project within the George E. Brown Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) research program.
8 ) WHAT
The bridge model is shaken with bidirectional forces to realistically simulate an earthquake. The structure incorporates several innovative features to be explored for the first time anywhere in the world. The research team will conduct a series of earthquake simulations, with the final test reaching two times that of the 1994 Northridge, Calif. earthquake in terms of acceleration intensity.
9) WHERE
The Rogers-Wiener Large-Scale Structures Laboratory on the east side of the University of Nevada, Reno campus.
10) WHY
The UNR research team is taking advantage of unique features of materials such as Nickel/Titanium alloys, polyvinyl fibers mixed with cement, and rubber materials to potentially revolutionize seismic design of future bridges to help protect lives, prevent damage and avoid bridge closure even when there a strong earthquake.
11) MEDIA CONTACT: Mike Wolterbeek, University Media Relations, 775-784-4547.
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Nevada’s land-grant university founded in 1874, the University of Nevada, Reno has an enrollment of nearly 17,000 students. The University is home to one the country’s largest study-abroad programs and the state’s medical school, and offers outreach and education programs in all Nevada counties. For more information, visit www.unr.edu.
Mike Wolterbeek
Interim Media Relations Officer
University Media Relations
University of Nevada, Reno/108
Reno, NV 89557
awolterbeek@unr.edu
775.784.4547 phone
775.784.1422 fax