NEES Large-Scale Testing Facilities

In laboratory tests, the effects of gravity and other physical forces generated by violent shaking are influenced by the weight and size of the model being used. Therefore, it is important to be able to test full-size models in order to more accurately re-create the effects of earthquakes on structures. The NEES program includes six large-scale testing facilities which are capable of testing "life-size" walls, columns, beams, and other structural components.

The University of Minnesota facility supports Multi-Axial Subassemblage Testing, which can be used to investigate the effects of earthquakes, high winds, and other extreme events on structures several stories tall. Structures up to 29 feet tall can be placed on a testing platform and subjected to heavy loads by hydraulic arms that mimic the conditions of extreme events. The arms can simulate vertical forces of 1.32 million pounds and horizontal forces of 800,000 pounds.

Critical services and supplies - such as communication wires, water, and fuel - are transported using underground pipes that form "lifelines" to surrounding communities. The Large Displacement Facility at Cornell University can test the structural integrity of underground pipelines as well as surface level structures.

The University of Buffalo, SUNY is exploring the use of Real-Time Dynamic Hybrid Testing, a new form of testing where shake table tests of structural components are combined in real-time with computer simulations of the remainder of the structure. This provides a more complete picture of how earthquakes would affect large structures, such as buildings and bridges, without the need to physically test the entire structure.

The University of California at Berkeley designed its Reconfigurable Reaction Wall-Based Earthquake Simulation Facility to support the development of a new generation of hybrid testing methods that smoothly integrate physical testing with simulations. To simulate a 30-second earthquake, for example, a software program divides the data into timed steps. At each step, actuators - each set at a different length and weight load - perform a stroke to mimic the dynamics of the earthquake. The steps are performed in simulated, rather than real time, so that the investigators can slow down the action, even calling a temporary halt to take data readings or mark cracks as they appear in the structure.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has created a physical-analytical simulation environment where multi-axial full-scale models can be subjected to complex testing conditions, representing earthquake ground motion. In a similar vein, facilities at the University of Colorado at Boulder and Lehigh University specialize in fast hybrid testing that combines real-time physical experiments with computer-based simulation for evaluating the earthquake performance of structural components and systems.



Learn more about Large-scale Laboratories
- Multi-Axial Subassemblage Testing Laboratory (MAST) at the University of Minnesota
- Cornell/Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute Large Displacement Facility
- The University at Buffalo's (UB) Structural Engineering and Earthquake Simulation Laboratory (SEESL)
- Large-Scale Hybrid Testing Facility at the University of Californnia, Berkeley
- NEES Multi-Axial Full-Scale Sub-Structures Testing and Simulation (MUST-SIM) Facility at UIUC
- University of Colorado - Fast Hybrid Test System
- Lehigh University - ATLSS Research System