Seismic Stress Test

What happens when you put a fully equipped five-story building, which includes two hospital floors, computer servers, fire barriers and even a working elevator, through a series of high-intensity earthquakes?. Structural engineers at the University of California, San Diego began to get some answers last week, when they launched a series of tests conducted on the world's largest outdoor shake table at the Englekirk Structural Engineering Center. Preparing for "the Big One" - NBC Nightly News California Engineers Rock Five-story Building in Huge Quake Test - USA Today California Earthquake Test Looks for Ways to Shore Up Hospitals - Huffington Post Scientists to rock $5million building in earthquake test - Daily Mail, UK The overarching goal of the $5 million project, which is supported by a coalition of government agencies, foundations and industry partners, is to ascertain what needs to be done to make sure that high-value buildings, such as hospitals and data centers, remain operational after going through an earthquake. Researchers also will assess whether the building's fire barriers have been affected by the shakes. "This research is representative of the service that UC San Diego provides: we seek to solve real-world problems and make a lasting impact," said Suresh Subramani, executive vice chancellor for Academic Affairs. "An investment in UC San Diego allows us to continue to tackle the difficult questions that face society, and leads to tangible outcomes such as saving lives by making buildings safe during earthquakes." During the first day of testing, on April 17, the five-story building was subjected to motions recorded during the 1994, 6.7-magnitude Northridge earthquake and 2010, and 8.8-magnitude San Pedro earthquake in Chile.