International Travel Support during 2015 for U.S.-Japan Research Collaboration on the Seismic Design and Testing of Mid-Rise Reinforced Concrete Buildings

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This award will support travel to Japan during August and December 2015 for four U.S. researchers to meet with Japanese collaborators to develop a seismic testing program for two full-scale, ten-story reinforced concrete building models. The building models will be tested for seismic performance on the E-Defense shake table operated by Japan's National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED). The cost for these shake table tests will be supported by a NIED research project. By working with Japanese researchers, the U.S. researchers will contribute to the design and testing of the structures, and will gain access to the test data to use in subsequent research analyses. The data will serve the U.S. national need of improving the resilience of buildings and communities against future earthquakes. The U.S. participants will be selected to best represent the research subject, as well as to promote participation from underrepresented groups. This award is part of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program. This collaboration will be the second phase of a two-phase U.S.-Japan research collaboration on the seismic performance of reinforced concrete buildings tested on the E-Defense shake table. In 2009-2010, researchers from Japan and the U.S. completed the first phase, which included the design, planning, seismic testing on the E-Defense shake table, and post-test analyses of two four-story buildings, one of conventional reinforced concrete and another of post-tensioned concrete. The second phase of this collaboration will involve the seismic design and testing on the E-Defense shake table of two full-scale, ten-story reinforced concrete buildings. The first test is planned for December 2015. In preparation for the December testing, a team of four U.S. researchers will travel to Japan during August and December 2015 to meet with Japanese collaborators. In these joint meetings with Japanese collaborators, the U.S. team will participate in design and testing of the structures so as to maximize the lessons learned for both Japan and the U.S. The test structures will have many features in common with U.S. reinforced concrete buildings, including moment frames and rectangular shear walls designed to withstand effects associated with inelastic response of buildings subjected to strong earthquakes that drive the buildings to near collapse. Seismic isolation will also be considered. The U.S. participants will aim to gather data that can serve as the basis for future research by U.S. investigators, including research on computational models to simulate response of buildings to strong earthquake shaking.