Seismic Retrofits for Hostpitals in San Diego

I didn't feel the quake in Baja this morning, but hearing people talk about it reminded me that I hadn't yet posted this story about hospital earthquake retrofits in San Diego. The story by Janet Lavelle "Hospitals on track for 2013 seismic deadline" ran in the San Diego Union Tribune on Wednesday.

One of the issues that came up in the story is strengthening/stiffening buildings vs. making them perform better in earthquakes. A couple of structural engineers tied to the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering are quoted in the story: Structural engineering professor Benson Shing and adjunct structural engineering professor Robert Englekirk.

Shake Table on DIY Network

Check out Jacobs School researchers on House vs. Nature on the DIY Network.  The photo above is a screen shot from the episode...showing one of the computer rooms at the Englekirk Structural Engineering Center at the UC San Diego Jacobs School.

Bridge Column Shake Video...have you seen it yet?

If you haven't seen the 24 foot bridge column swaying on the shake table, check out this video on the Jacobs School YouTube Channel.

Bridge Column Shake Video on Union Tribune Web Site

The video of yesterday's bridge column shaking, along with a summary of the project and some insights from structural engineering professor Jose Restrepo, are on the Science Quest blog.

Bridge Column Shake Footage on YouTube

A short clip from yesterday's shake test is on the Jacobs School YouTube channel. Learn more at the http://nees.ucsd.edu/.



The seismic behavior of full-scale bridge columns designed based on current Caltrans practice is being investigated using the UCSD shake table as part of an extensive test program with E-Defense (Japan) and UC Berkeley in an effort to improve current bridge design and analysis practices. Learn more: http://nees.ucsd.edu/projects/2010-bridge-column/

Shake Testing today: Bridge Columns

Today's shake tests out at Englekirk start in about 30 minutes.

Update: follow the latest from the shake tests today on twitter:  https://twitter.com/UCSDJacobs

A 24-foot tall bridge column will undergo a series of simulated earthquake tests up to a 7.0 magnitude, conducted by UC San Diego structural engineers, beginning on Sept. 20. The bridge column is modeled after those designed by CALTRANS over the last 15 years. It will be the first time engineers will test a full scale bridge column of this kind on an earthquake simulator. The engineers will test the seismic vulnerability of these bridge columns and to provide additional data for improving future designs.
Check out the live cam: http://nees.ucsd.edu/video/

Bridge Columns To Be Tested on Jacobs School Shake Table

A 24-foot tall bridge column will undergo a series of simulated earthquake tests up to a 7.0 magnitude, conducted by UC San Diego structural engineers, beginning on Sept. 20. The bridge column is modeled after those designed by CALTRANS over the last 15 years. It will be the first time engineers will test a full scale bridge column of this kind on an earthquake simulator.  The engineers will test the seismic vulnerability of these bridge columns and to provide additional data for improving future designs.

Check out the live cam: http://nees.ucsd.edu/video/

Largest Earthquake Simulation: Go SDSC!

SDSC Leads Supercomputing Efforts in Creating Largest-Ever Earthquake Simulation

Magnitude 8.0 Simulation, Named a Gordon Bell Prize Finalist, Could Guide Emergency Planning

Seismologists have long been asking not if, but when ‘The Big One’ will strike southern California. Just how big will it be, and how will the amount of shaking vary throughout the region? Now we may be much closer to finding out the answer to at least the latter part of that question, and help prepare the Golden State’s emergency response teams to better cope with such a potential disaster.

Check out the earthquke simulation video on Scivee.tv

Read the full story on the SDSC news site.

Check out the UT story by Gary Robbins. (Includes embedded version of the quake simulation).

Earthquake-Safe Buildings

As earthquake preparedness continues to be at the forefront of research and conversations around the globe, structural engineers at UC San Diego have received a boost in funding to help protect buildings and people from potential seismic disasters.

Benson Shing, a structural engineering professor at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, will use a nearly $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to study and test performance-based seismic design methods and tools for reinforced masonry shear-wall structures. Under the three-year project, Shing and his colleagues will develop innovative methodologies and improved design requirements for the seismic resistance design of shear walls in reinforced masonry buildings, and reliable analytical tools for assessing their seismic performance in an effort to enhance the cost-effectiveness and performance of these structures. These types of masonry structures are mainly used for low rise commercial buildings, as well as for mid-to-low rise office buildings and hotels. As part of the grant, Shing plans to conduct a series of simulated earthquake tests on two-and-three-story shear wall systems at the end of 2011 and in early 2012 at the UC San Diego Englekirk Structural Engineering Center, home of the world’s largest outdoor shake table.

“We hope to break new ground in design and modeling,” Shing said about the project. Earlier this year, the NSIT awarded a total of $34.12 million in grants for measurement science and engineering research. The NIST Measurement Science and Engineering Research Grants Program, made possible through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will fund 27 projects at higher-education, commercial, and nonprofit organizations in 18 states.

Chile Earthquake Discussioin on UCSD-TV

UC San Diego structural engineering professors Jose Restrepo and Tara Hutchinson share their insights on damage from the great Chilean earthquake of 2010 on the UCSD-TV program "On Beyond." The full program is 27 minutes and first aired on May 10, 2010.

Shake Test Movie on Union Tribune Blog

Thirty seconds of footage from last week's shake test of a metal building out at the Englekirk Structural Engineering Center is playing on the new science/technology/defense blog at the Union Tribune called Science Quest.

Stay tuned for more video and more into on the shake.

From the media advisory:

"Metal building systems make up a large portion of new low-rise, non-residential construction today. These systems are designed to be extremely efficient and their performance in earthquakes has been excellent over the years because they are strong, flexible and light in weight."

Chile 2010 Earthquake Seminar Tonight

Structural engineering professor Tara Hutchinson, Department of Structural Engineering UC San Diego will give a talk tonight about the magnitute 8.8 earthquake that struck central Chile on February 27.

The talk title: “Ground Failure Impacts on Infrastructure during the 2010 Maule, Chile Earthquake”

When? Monday May 3, 6 PM to 7 PM

Where? UCSD, Center Hall, Room 109

The talk is aimed at an undergraduate level audience...so you'll have to think, but it should be (mostly) understandable.

The 2010 Maule, Chile Earthquake impacted a region 600 km by 100 km and 80% of the population. A tsunami was initiated by the rupture, devastating portions of the coastline and resulting in the loss of hundreds of lives. Over 500,000 homes were destroyed and economic estimates are on the order of 15-20Billion USD (10-15% of Chile’s GDP).

This earthquake tested numerous modern structures and was therefore the subject of several post-earthquake reconnaissance efforts. Geotechnical impacts on structures during this event were manifested through strong ground shaking and site effects, liquefaction and lateral spreading, and slope instability. Where severe ground failure occurred, the impact on infrastructure such as buildings, transportation, and port structures was significant. This presentation will provide an overview of the engineering seismology and ground motion characteristics for this event and resulting damage patterns, with particular focus on the impacts of ground failure on the built environment. Liquefaction significantly impacted a number of buildings, while liquefaction-induced lateral spreading resulted in significant structural damage to bridges and waterfront structures. Important case histories from this event will be described in the discussion.

San Diego / Southern California Earthquake Map from USGS

USGS ShakeMaps

ShakeMap is a product of the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program in conjunction with regional seismic network operators. ShakeMap sites provide near-real-time maps of ground motion and shaking intensity following significant earthquakes. These maps are used by federal, state, and local organizations, both public and private, for post-earthquake response and recovery, public and scientific information, as well as for preparedness exercises and disaster planning.

Southern California ShakeMap is here.

A full list of the ShakeMaps is below:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/shakemap/

btw, the times in the ShakeMaps are given in UTC or "coordinated universal time". At the link below, you can toggle back and forth between UTC and Pacific Time.

Pacific Time in UTC is here.

Pacific Time in "Pacific Time" is here.

Magnitude 7.2, Baja California, April 4, 2010

HPWREN sent around an interesting link from NEES@UCSB about the Magnitude 7.2 earthquake in Baja, California on April 4, 2010. The story is by Hank Ratzesberger, Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES).

Caption for image above: Ground and downhole acceleration was recorded at depths of 5.5, 8.5, 30 and 100 meters. The Wildlife and other sites operated by NEES@UCSB are among a handful of sites with dense instrumentation at strategic soil layer depths. Highly instrumented and thoroughly characterized, the sites provide a laboratory to test modeling of soil and seismic wave properties.

Structural Engineers Quoted in LaFee Story

Last week, Scott LaFee wrote an interesting story in the San Diego Union Tribune that looked at some of the similarities between Chile and California, both in terms of earthquakes and building codes.

Frieder Seible, Dean of the Jacobs School of Engineering and professor of structural engineering, provided insights, as did structural engineering professor Jose Restrepo.

The deeper, stronger temblors in Chile often last for up to two minutes, while California quakes typically persist for 10 to 15 seconds, said Frieder Seible, dean of the Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California San Diego and an international expert on bridge and highway seismic safety.

Still, researchers such as Seible said every strong quake is potentially devastating and that most offer new insights. Both the magnitude-6.9 Loma Prieta temblor in 1989, which killed 63 people and caused $6 billion in damage, and the 6.7 Northridge quake in 1994, which killed 72 people and caused $20 billion in damage, resulted in significant revisions to seismic standards and building codes.

Read the full story here.

Jose Restrepo Offers Insights on Building Codes in Chile

In a Q&A by the Voice of San Diego, structural engineering professor Jose Restrepo provides insights on the building codes in Chile as well as some thoughts on readiness of California's buildings for an earthquake.

Restrepo is one of the structural engineering professors at the Jacobs School who builds and tests large-scale and full-scale models of buildings and other structures and then tests them on the world's largest outdoor shake table out at the UCSD Englekirk Structural Engineering Center.

One of Claire Trageser's quiestions and Jose Restrepo's answers are below. Read the full Q&A here.

UPDATE #1: Restrepo is also in this Univision story (you may need to get the latest version of Flash for the video to play).

So then these building codes in Chile helped them avert some of the
disaster?

Absolutely. Chile has an earthquake every 20 to 30 years, so they were very well aware that they were going be hit by a big earthquake. In Chile, they have a tradition in their building codes to be very strong. They also have a very good education system, where they go to universities for six years, so when they're finished they are very well trained. The training of architects and contractors, when it goes hand in hand with the building codes, gives a very good result.

Jose Restrepo to Comment on Chile Earthquake

Saturday February 27: Structural engineering professor Jose Restrepo is scheduled to take part in a 4:30 PM live discussion in the KUSI studio on the damage to Chile's buildings and other infrastructure in the wake of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile.

Wind Turbine Shake Web Cam Screen capture

Wind Turbine Shake Time

UC San Diego engineers are expected to test a wind turbine under simulated earthquakes 7.0 magnitude and greater at 2 p.m. today, Feb 22. [web cam] [screen shot]

The 80-foot , 65-kilowatt turbine, donated by Oak Creek Energy Systems, was built in the 1980s and operated in Tehachapi, Calif.

Check out the live web cam:http://nees.ucsd.edu/resources/video-sw.shtml

media advisory below:

MEDIA ADVISORY:
Press Briefing and Dramatic Photo Opportunity Engineers to Shake Wind Turbine During Strong Simulated Jolts

WHEN: 2 p.m., Monday, Feb. 22, 2010 (test subject to weather conditions)

WHERE: UC San Diego Englekirk Structural Engineering Center, Camp Elliott (Scripps Ranch)10205 Pomerado Rd., San Diego, 92128 map

WHO: Ahmed Elgamal, Structural Engineering Professor, UC San Diego, Enrique Luco, Structural Engineering Professor, UC San Diego, Chia-Ming Uang, Structural Engineering Professor, UC San Diego, Reps from Oak Creek Energy Systems, an Escondido, Calif,.-based wind energy company

WHAT: Witness the dramatic shaking of a wind turbine during a series of simulated earthquakes at the UC San Diego Englekirk Structural Engineering Center. UC San Diego engineers are expected to test the turbine under simulated earthquakes 7.0 magnitude and greater. This is the second in a series of shake tests. The first set of tests earlier this month was the first time a wind turbine was tested on a shake table with the blades in operation. The 80-foot , 65-kilowatt turbine, donated by Oak Creek Energy Systems, was built in the 1980s and operated in Tehachapi, Calif. The same materials are used to build modern-day wind turbines, which stand 150 feet tall and higher. Little seismic research has been conducted on wind turbines until now. As wind farms become a growing critical component of the world’s “green” power generation, industry leaders and researchers are studying their performance and looking for ways to further enhance their seismic design. Under this $400,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, UCSD engineers will be able to do just that. The Englekirk Structural Engineering Center, which has the largest outdoor shake table in the world, is the only facility capable of testing a full scale wind turbine.

CONTACT: Andrea Siedsma, (760) 840-0494(cell); asiedsma@soe.ucsd.edu

Wind Turbine Shake Test on TV

KUSI is just one of the local TV stations that covered the earthquake tests of wind turbines. As far as we know, this is the first shake test of wind turbines in which the turbine blades were turning during the test. Below is what KUSI had to say:

UCSD quake-tests wind turbines

Earthquakes and renewable energy aren't usually mentioned in the same conversation, but a team of engineers at UC San Diego wants to know what one would do to the other.

Here is the link to the KUSI story with video.