San Diego : UCSD Lab to Aid Earthquake Study
UC San Diego officials plan to expand their earthquake structural design program by constructing a $2.6-million laboratory to help researchers measure how buildings and bridges endure temblors.
The new lab, which will be next to the Charles Lee Powell Structural Systems Laboratory, will house sophisticated equipment that can test the ability of components of houses or bridges to withstand earthquakes. A shake table, or a device that simulates seismic loads, will be included in the new facility.
A $1-million grant from the Charles Lee Powell Foundation will partly finance construction of the new facility. UC research funds will cover the rest.
In the existing facility, researchers now test bridge columns, freeway ramps and ocean platforms. The new building will allow researchers to make a dent in the estimated two-year backlog of seismic studies projects, according to Freider Seible, associate director of the Powell laboratory.
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