‘Ground Braking’ Tests On Earthquake And Fire Readiness For A Five-Story Building

April 16th, 2012

The University of California, San Diego is performing one of the largest fire and structural research projects in the United States. Full-scale fire tests will be conducted on May 9th – 11th 2012 to assess the performance of active and passive fire protection systems and impacts and effects of fire spread and smoke movement in an earthquake-damaged high-rise building (in part co-sponsored by Klausbruckner & Associates).

A series of tests will be used to examine the performance of structural building components and equipment during and after an earthquake.

What happens when you put a fully equipped five-story building, which includes an intensive care unit, a surgery suite, piping and air conditioning, fire barriers and even a working elevator, through series of high-intensity earthquakes? Structural engineers at the University of California, San Diego are about to find out during a two-week series of tests conducted on the world’s largest outdoor shake table at the Englekirk Structural Engineering Center. 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.

Read more at UCSD News: News Center

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