Projects
 
nees@berkeley

NEESinc
nees@berkeley is an equipment site of the George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES). Our specialty is modeling large-scale structural systems and experimental evaluation of their response to earthquakes. We continue the long Berkeley tradition of pioneering new experimental and numerical modeling and evaluation methods. At nees@berkeley you can certainly do conventional tests using our configurable reaction wall facility and a versatile array of actuators. However, we are very proud to have developed new hybrid simulation methods that combine physical and analytical sub-structures into a hybrid model of the entire structure using our state-of-the-art digital controllers and networks, the OpenFresco interface framework, and the latest finite element models built using the OpenSees analysis framework. We invite you to test your new ideas at nees@berkeley.

nees@berkeley is also a place of discovery. Here, you can see how earthquakes can affect structures. We have many videos of experimental testing on hand and several laboratory demonstrations ready to run for middle- and high-school students. We also run research experience sessions during the summer. Contact us to arrange your visit to nees@berkeley.

 

 

 
PEER

The goal of this project is to define the link between ground motion intensity measures and structural damage measures for typical straight short- and medium-span bridges found in California. This link will be expressed in terms of a probability of exceeding a damage measure given a ground motion characterized by a set of intensity measures. Such probabilistic relations will span a wide range of bridge design parameters and ground motion types. The objectives of the project are:

  1. To collect a statistically representative suite of earthquakes spanning a wide range of intensity measures.

  2.  To identify representative bridge damage measures that have been quantified using existing test data.

  3. To design a set of typical new bridges and generate a test suite by varying typical design parameters.

  4. To model and analyze each bridge for each motion in OpenSees, using non-linear dynamic analysis.

  5. To statistically analyze the link between ground motion intensity measures and bridge damage measures and to develop a probabilistic relation between these two PBD parameters using Cornell's approach.

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Curee-Kajima project The Framework for Integration and Visualization of Structural State Data project aims to conceptualize, develop and implement a framework for gathering, classifying, and integrating data collected from a structure to enable effective visualization and interpretation of the structure's in-service state. This research is part of the CUREE-Kajima Joint Research Project Phase V.
IAEA CAMUS Benchmark

International Atomic Energy Agency has recently initiated a coordinated research program on safety significance of near-field earthquakes. The purpose of this program is to focus on the assessment of vulnerability of nuclear facility structures by using and adapting the best available engineering practices appropriate to evaluate the effects of Near-Field Earthquakes (NFE). The program has two principal components:

  1. Evaluation of safety significance of experimental results by carrying out a benchmark on Near-Field Earthquakes using the CAMUS I structural wall tests, provided by France, as experimental background data.
  1. Development of a common approach to necessary evolution of the current engineering practice by concurring on the main features of an appropriate approach to realistically account for the effects of near-field earthquakes and their safety significance. The basis for this common approach is the conclusions of the NUREG/CR-6719 document.
 
SPUR

 

Our main objective is to develop the computational capability for modeling the effects of earthquakes in urban regions on the built-infrastructure, and to apply this capability to simulate the performance of collections of building and other structures in the Greater Los Angeles Basin and the San Francisco Bay Area. The ultimate goal is to be able to forecast the amount and distribution of damage throughout an urban region. This problem is of great importance to hazard mitigation and seismic risk reduction because assessing the ground motion to which structures will be exposed during their lifetimes, and predicting their response to this ground motion, including potential damage, is an essential step for the appropriate design and retrofit of earthquake-resistant built infrastructure. The SPUR virtual laboratory (Seismic Performance of Urban Regions) can become a living model of an urban region that can be updated as more data are collected (including geological, strong motion, construction, damage and cost models, etc.).  It can be used as a stand-alone tool, or in conjunction with other deterministic or probabilistic analysis methodologies, to develop appropriate relationships between seismic hazard and the damaging effects of earthquakes. The SPUR laboratory can complement existing loss-estimation models, such as HAZUS. It can be a valuable scientific tool for decision-makers and the general public in improving the resistance of a community to earthquake disasters.