EERC and The Watershed Project host Open House and Tours

On October 15th, EERC joined The Watershed Project in their second annual Celebration by the Bay. The festivities took place in the Native Plant Nursery of The Watershed Project and in EERC's Earthquake Shaking Table Laboratory at the U.C. Berkeley's Richmond Field Station. From noon to 5:00 there were many activities including tours of the marsh restoration, bird watching tours and hands-on activities. EERC scheduled two guided tours including a demonstration of one of the small shake tables. In addition, EERC continuously ran an NBC Dateline segment on earthquake preparedness filmed in the Shaking Table Lab and displayed a mix of posters, photos, models and equipment for visitors to examine.

Shakhzod Takhirov (on left) demonstrates the effect of varying ground motion frequency on the response of a structure utilizing one of the lab's small shaking table. He also discussed the various techniques of earthquake engineering developed to improve the performance of structures during strong earthquakes. Stiffening the structure by adding braces or increasing size of its members, increasing damping of the building by adding dampers, and isolating structures from the shaking ground by means of seismic isolators were discussed. Several full-scale dampers and seismic isolators tested previously at the laboratory were demonstrated.

Wes Neighbour (on right) explains how a scale model bridge column was tested on the EERC Shaking Table. He discussed how engineers are able to evaluate the performance of a given set of design features by observing the physical damage to a model and by analyzing the data collected after a series of simulated earthquakes. He also discussed the shaking table that is a complex system powered by compressed hydraulic oil. The shaking table is capable of reproducing ground shaking during strong earthquake and allows to study seismic performance of full-scale structures in almost real circumstances.

Posters displayed information demonstrating how results of earthquake engineering research is being used to improve the design criteria and safety of structures. A scaled down base isolation bearing is on display in front of a photographs of a full scale isolator (above). The lower photo shows an isolator being subjected to an extreme level of shear. Base isolation technology was used in the earthquake retrofit of many buildings across the US and world wide, the San Francisco City Hall is a representative example of such application.

This site is supported by the George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) Program of the National Science Foundation.

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EERC and The Watershed Project host Open House and Tours

	Shakhzod Takhirov (on left) demonstrates the effect of varying ground motion frequency on the response of a structure utilizing one of the lab's small shaking table. He also discussed the various techniques of earthquake engineering developed to improve the performance of structures during strong earthquakes. Stiffening the structure by adding braces or increasing size of its members, increasing damping of the building by adding dampers, and isolating structures from the shaking ground by means of seismic isolators were discussed. Several full-scale dampers and seismic isolators tested previously at the laboratory were demonstrated.
Wes Neighbour (on right) explains how a scale model bridge column was tested on the EERC Shaking Table. He discussed how engineers are able to evaluate the performance of a given set of design features by observing the physical damage to a model and by analyzing the data collected after a series of simulated earthquakes. He also discussed the shaking table that is a complex system powered by compressed hydraulic oil. The shaking table is capable of reproducing ground shaking during strong earthquake and allows to study seismic performance of full-scale structures in almost real circumstances.
	Posters displayed information demonstrating how results of earthquake engineering research is being used to improve the design criteria and safety of structures. A scaled down base isolation bearing is on display in front of a photographs of a full scale isolator (above). The lower photo shows an isolator being subjected to an extreme level of shear. Base isolation technology was used in the earthquake retrofit of many buildings across the US and world wide, the San Francisco City Hall is a representative example of such application.