Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure: Experimental Facility with Large, Mobile Dynamic Shakers for Field Testing

自然灾害工程研究基础设施(NHERI)将得到国家科学基金会(NSF)的支持，这是一个分布式、多用户的国家设施，将为自然灾害研究界提供访问研究基础设施的机会，其中将包括地震和风力工程实验设施、网络基础设施、计算建模和模拟工具、研究数据以及教育和社区推广活动。NHERI将由网络协调办公室、网络基础设施、计算建模和仿真中心以及实验设施(包括灾后快速反应研究设施)的单独奖项组成。授予NHERI的奖项将有助于NSF在国家减少地震灾害计划(NEHRP)和国家减少风暴影响计划中发挥的作用。NHERI继续强调NSF对地震工程研究基础设施的重视，这些基础设施以前是由小乔治·E·布朗资助的。地震工程模拟网络作为NEHRP的一部分，但现在扩大了支持范围，包括风能工程研究基础设施。NHERI的广泛目标是支持将提高民用基础设施(如建筑物和其他结构、地下结构、堤坝和关键生命线)抵御地震和风暴自然灾害的弹性和可持续性的研究，以将生命损失、破坏和经济损失降至最低。有关NHERI资源的信息将在DesignSafe-ci.org门户网站上提供。NHERI实验设施将为NSF支持的研究和教育奖项提供对其实验资源、用户服务和数据管理基础设施的访问。该奖项将支持位于德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校的NHERI实验设施，该设施配有用于现场实验的大型移动动态振动器和相关仪器。该设备可用于研究和开发新的现场测试方法，可用于确定现场土壤属性，评估现有民用基础设施的脆弱性，并优化未来基础设施的设计。这些进展将使社区对地震和其他自然灾害具有更强的适应能力。虽然从小规模到大规模的实验室测试中可以学到很多东西，但仍有必要在目前的状态下实地测试各种已建成的基础设施。该设施设备将满足现场测试的需求，并允许在关键领域开发变革性工具，例如三维(3D)地下成像(具有快速堤坝评估和空洞/空洞检测等应用)和无损检测(具有高级土壤液化评估和建筑物和桥梁的土壤-基础-结构相互作用研究等应用)。这些领域的进展将把国家带入弹性和可持续基础设施的下一个前沿，这将造福整个社会，并支持持续的经济、智力和科学增长。这一设施将使研究人员能够解决在现场测试进展方面的三个主要挑战，如果完成，可能会改变恢复和建立更具弹性和可持续的社区的能力。这三个主要挑战是：(1)显著提高从浅到深(大于1000米)的二维(2D)和三维地下成像的精度和分辨率；(2)现场表征复杂岩土材料的非线性动力响应和抗液化能力；(3)发展快速、原位的非破坏性结构评估和土-基础-结构相互作用研究方法。虽然更倾向于应对地震灾害，但解决这些挑战的能力也将影响多种灾害的复原力。例如，执行快速2D和3D地下成像的挑战将直接适用于优先修复国家现有的堤防系统，其中许多系统目前对传统的洪水、飓风风暴潮或地震没有弹性。自然灾害研究的下一个前沿领域最终要求工程师为复杂问题开发实用的解决方案，这将需要在广泛的实际现场条件下测试民用基础设施系统。这种现场测试可以使用该设施的大型移动动态振动器和相关仪器来完成。此外，为了发展更有弹性和更可持续的社区，至关重要的是吸引和培养一批多样化和有才华的未来工程师，他们能够应对面临自然灾害风险的快速增长的人口所面临的挑战，这些人口受到老化的基础设施的支持。该设施将与K-12教师合作，创建适合年龄的、以危险为中心的课程模块，教授与开发一个更具弹性和可持续发展的世界相关的工程概念。该设施将在第一年举办三次用户研讨会，并在随后几年举办年度研讨会，并将为本科生提供研究体验。

The Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) will be supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) as a distributed, multi-user national facility that will provide the natural hazards research community with access to research infrastructure that will include earthquake and wind engineering experimental facilities, cyberinfrastructure, computational modeling and simulation tools, and research data, as well as education and community outreach activities. NHERI will be comprised of separate awards for a Network Coordination Office, Cyberinfrastructure, Computational Modeling and Simulation Center, and Experimental Facilities, including a post-disaster, rapid response research facility. Awards made for NHERI will contribute to NSF's role in the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) and the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program. NHERI continues NSF's emphasis on earthquake engineering research infrastructure previously supported under the George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation as part of NEHRP, but now broadens that support to include wind engineering research infrastructure. NHERI has the broad goal of supporting research that will improve the resilience and sustainability of civil infrastructure, such as buildings and other structures, underground structures, levees, and critical lifelines, against the natural hazards of earthquakes and windstorms, in order to minimize loss of life, damage, and economic loss. Information about NHERI resources will be available on the DesignSafe-ci.org web portal. NHERI Experimental Facilities will provide access to their experimental resources, user services, and data management infrastructure for NSF-supported research and education awards. This award will support a NHERI Experimental Facility, located at the University of Texas at Austin, with large, mobile dynamic shakers and associated instrumentation for field experimentation. This equipment can be used to study and develop novel, in-situ testing methods that can be used to determine in-situ soil properties, evaluate the vulnerability of existing civil infrastructure, and optimize the design of future infrastructure. These advances will result in communities that are more resilient to earthquakes and other natural hazards. While there is a great deal to be learned from small- to large-scale laboratory testing, there remains the need to field test a wide variety of infrastructure, as constructed, in its current state. The facility equipment will fulfill the need for in-situ testing and allow for transformative tools to be developed in critical areas such as three-dimensional (3D) subsurface imaging (with applications such as rapid levee evaluation and void/cavity detection) and non-destructive testing (with applications such as advanced soil liquefaction evaluation and soil-foundation-structure interaction studies for buildings and bridges). Progress in these areas will lead the nation to the next frontier of resilient and sustainable infrastructure, which will benefit society at large and support continued economic, intellectual, and scientific growth.This facility will enable researchers to address three main challenges to making in-situ testing advancements that, if accomplished, could transform the ability to rehabilitate and build more resilient and sustainable communities. These three main challenges are: (1) significantly improving the accuracy and resolution of shallow-to-deep (greater than 1000 meters) two-dimensional (2D) and 3D subsurface imaging; (2) characterizing the nonlinear dynamic response and liquefaction resistance of complex geomaterials in-situ; and (3) developing rapid, in-situ methods for non-destructive structural evaluations and for soil-foundation-structure interaction studies. While more heavily weighted toward addressing earthquake hazards, the ability to solve these challenges will also affect multi-hazard resiliency. For example, the challenge of performing rapid 2D and 3D subsurface imaging will apply directly to prioritizing rehabilitation of the nation's existing levee systems, many of which are currently not resilient to traditional flooding, hurricane storm surges, or earthquakes. The next frontier of natural hazards research ultimately demands that engineers develop practical solutions for complex problems, which will require testing of civil infrastructure systems over a wide range of actual field conditions. This in-situ testing can be accomplished using the large, mobile dynamic shakers and associated instrumentation of this facility. Furthermore, to develop more resilient and sustainable communities, it will be essential to engage and cultivate a diverse and talented group of future engineers who can address the challenges that face a rapidly growing population supported by aging infrastructure at risk to natural hazards. This facility will team with K-12 teachers to create age-appropriate, hazard-centered lesson modules that teach engineering concepts related to developing a more resilient and sustainable world. This facility will conduct three user workshops in year one and annual workshops in subsequent years and will host Research Experiences for Undergraduate students.