Workshop: Earthquake Engineering and Structural Control Experimentation

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

A workshop is being organized in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area to introduce members of the local research community who are interested in earthquake engineering and dynamic system control to the newly-built 6-DOF shake table at the Virginia Campus of The George Washington University. The Washington metro area is home to a number of institutions of higher education, including The George Washington University, the University of Maryland at College Park, Johns Hopkins University and Catholic University, and to several national laboratories, including the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Turner Fairbanks Laboratory, the Naval Research Laboratory, and NASA Goddard Research Center. Researchers at these institutions and laboratories are involved in work.such as earthquake engineering, structural damping and position control, and vibration control.that could benefit from unique experimental capabilities of the shake table. Each Workshop participant will present a 15-minute talk suggesting possible research that he or she could do on the shake table. Each talk will be followed by a brief discussion among all participants about the merits of, and possible improvements to, the proposed idea. The Workshop is designed to allow the group of participating researchers a maximally, mutually inspiring, intellectual experience. Intellectual Merit: A number of new research ideas for use of the newly-installed shake table will be introduced at the workshop. Topics will include (1) experimental verifications of analytical prediction, (2) active and semi-active structural control, (3) novel sensor technologies, and (4) dynamic and pseudo-dynamic concurrent testing. These discussions are expected to lead participating researchers to individual as well as collaborative research projects in the areas of earthquake engineering and structural dynamics. Broader Impact: One of the most effective forums for exploring the capabilities of the newly built shake table and challenging the personnel associated with the shake table facility is through a workshop on just these topics. The direct impact of the proposed Workshop will be to stimulate use of this modern and unique regional facility, which provides capabilities of critical interest to the research community. Other benefits to come from the workshop include (1) the pioneering of networking procedures for addition of sites to the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) grid, and (2) creating synergy among researchers of the earthquake engineering community and those from the structural dynamics community. Research to be conducted will involve both undergraduate and graduate student participation. The results of the workshop will be made available through the Internet. This information will be advertised in venues such as the NEES Consortium, the National Science Foundation, and the Earthquake Engineering Research Council. To further diversify the thinking going on at the Workshop, we will encourage the participation of under-represented groups whenever possible.