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）将得到美国国家科学基金会（NSF）的支持，作为一个分布式、多用户的国家设施，它将为自然灾害研究社区提供研究基础设施，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，以及教育和社区外展活动。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）组成。NHERI获得的奖金将有助于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的作用。NHERI延续了NSF对地震工程研究基础设施的重视，此前，作为NEHRP的一部分，由小乔治·e·布朗地震工程模拟网络支持，但现在扩大了对风力工程研究基础设施的支持。NHERI的广泛目标是支持提高民用基础设施（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，以最大限度地减少生命损失、损害和经济损失。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励提供对其实验资源、用户服务和数据管理基础设施的访问。该奖项将支持NHERI实验设施，该设施位于德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校，拥有大型移动动力激振器和相关的现场实验仪器。该设备可用于研究和开发新的原位测试方法，可用于确定原位土壤特性，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。这些进步将使社区更能抵御地震和其他自然灾害。虽然从小型到大规模的实验室测试中可以学到很多东西，但仍然需要对各种各样的基础设施进行现场测试，这些基础设施已建成，处于其当前状态。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，如三维（3D）地下成像（应用于快速堤防评估和空洞/空洞检测）和无损检测（应用于先进的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）。这些领域的进步将引领国家走向具有弹性和可持续基础设施的下一个前沿，这将使整个社会受益，并支持经济、智力和科学的持续增长。该设施将使研究人员能够解决三个主要挑战，使原位测试取得进展，如果完成，可以改变恢复和建立更具弹性和可持续发展的社区的能力。这三个主要挑战是：(1)显著提高浅至深（大于1000米）二维（2D）和三维地下成像的精度和分辨率；(2)复杂岩土材料的非线性动力响应和抗液化特性的现场表征；(3)发展快速的原位无损结构评价方法和土-基础-结构相互作用研究方法。虽然更侧重于应对地震灾害，但解决这些挑战的能力也将影响多灾害的恢复能力。例如，执行快速2D和3D地下成像的挑战将直接适用于国家现有堤坝系统的优先修复，其中许多系统目前无法抵御传统的洪水，飓风风暴潮或地震。自然灾害研究的下一个前沿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。现场测试可以使用该设备的大型移动式动力激振器和相关仪器来完成。此外，为了发展更具弹性和可持续性的社区，必须吸引和培养多样化和有才华的未来工程师群体，他们能够应对人口快速增长所面临的挑战，这些挑战是由面临自然灾害风险的老化基础设施所支撑的。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，教授与建设一个更具弹性和可持续性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，并在随后的几年举办年度研讨会，并将为本科生举办研究体验。

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.