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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 30, 2001
MEDIA CONTACT: Bob Ludwig, (202)994-3566, bludwig@gwu.edu Ashburn, VA -- The George Washington University and the National Science Foundation will open the most modern, state-of-the-art Earthquake Simulator in the country at the University's Loudoun-Dulles Campus on December 3. It is the only simulator of its kind on the East Coast and is one of the largest in the U.S. The simulator laboratory will be unveiled at the 10th Anniversary Celebration of GW's Loudoun-Dulles Campus on Monday, December 3. Media tours of the new research lab will be conducted beginning at 10 a.m. Earthquake simulations will also be conducted from noon to 1 p.m. and 3 to 4 p.m. Also known as a shake table, the simulator's platform measures 10 ft. X 10 ft. and is capable of producing every motion that a building or structure may experience during an earthquake, including side-to-side motions in two directions, up-and-down, rocking in two directions and twisting. It can simulate the most severe and largest earthquakes recorded in the U.S. in the last 100 years. The platform weighs 4,000 lbs. and can bear the weight of structural models up to 36,000 lbs. Beneath the shake table is a huge mass of concrete weighing approximately 170 tons. The concrete goes down about 30 feet into the ground and is connected to the earth's bedrock by eighteen "H"-shaped steel rods, which stabilize the table and prevent its motion from being transferred to the building housing the table. With a grant from NSF, the shake table is already being used to study "smart" structures subjected to severe earthquake ground motion. A smart structure is one that consists of mechanisms - such as sensors, dampers or controllers - that can detect and modify the response of the structure to a range of ground motion. "This research can benefit virtually all infrastructure elements that may be subjected to human-made vibrations or natural hazards," said Shahram Sarkani, professor of engineering management and systems engineering and director of the School of Engineering's Center for Infrastructure Safety and Reliability. "Such infrastructure includes civil structures, mechanical and aerospace systems, and industrial facilities." Media interested in attending the lab opening should contact Bob Ludwig at (202)994-3566, bludwig@gwu.edu
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