The NHERI UC San Diego Experimental Facility is home to the large, high-performance shake table called “LHPOST.” Earthquake engineers use this huge outdoor facility at the UCSD Englekirk Structural Engineering Center to test the seismic behavior of full-scale structures. In the summer of 2021, LHPOST is in the final stages of a $16.3M upgrade that will enable its platen base to move with six degrees of freedom, simulating the full, three-dimensional range of earthquake ground motions: up and down, left and right, as well as pitch, roll, and yaw. In June 2021, DesignSafe Radio features Koorosh Lotfizadeh, PhD, operations manager at the UC San Diego facility. In three episodes, Lotfizadeh discusses the evolution and the research capabilities of LHPOST6.
UCSD’s Koorosh Lotfizadeh explains the shake table upgrade, which will enable itto shake structures with six degrees of freedom.The newly named LHPOST6 can simulate subtle ground rotations, for example, which will provide new insights on inter-story drift, top-story displacements and the behavior of internal building components. Also, the new ability to test vertical motions will enable researchers to see “punching” action by building columns. Learn how the facility staff can help researchers plan funding proposals and testing protocols.
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