International Hybrid Simulation
of Tomorrow's Steel Braced Frames
Images of Lab Preparations for the nees@berkeley Tests
The project involves
herculean preparations
for testing several large-scale, nearly full-scale braced frame specimens.
The test rig to be used in this project
seems larger than life and weighs a gazillion pounds.
Below are images
showing plans, overviews, and details of components
as captured during the preparations for the tests.
Figure 1.
This drawing shows the side view of the testing configuration
of the braced frame specimen.
We see the test rig with a frame specimen
and the reconfigurable reaction wall
all sitting on the strong floor in the lab.
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Figure 2.
Grouting pre-cast concrete blocks
to assemble the reconfigurable reaction wall.
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Figure 3.
The floor strengthening beam arrived
(sitting besides the mobile crane).
This beam will be connected to
four other floor beams below the strong floor.
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Figure 4.
The forces developed in these tests
are so large
that we need additional floor beams
to protect the strong floor in the lab.
In Figure 1,
the floor beam
corresponds to the red and white beam
sitting on the concrete strong floor.
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Figure 5.
The two massive actuator brackets arrived.
The 1.5 M-lb actuators will be connected to these brackets
and mounted on the reaction wall.
One can be seen here in the foreground,
and the second one is in the background.
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Figure 6.
The lower actuator bracket is mounted on the side of reaction wall
(it is the lab's reconfigurable reaction wall made of large precast concrete blocks).
In the drawing in Figure 1,
these brackets corresponds to
the dark red brackets on the wall
that support the 1.5 M-lb actuators.
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