By Joyce Kryszak
Amherst, NY – Engineers waited anxiously Thursday at UB's earthquake simulation laboratory to see if all their hard work would be shaken apart in the latest seismic test.
For about forty long seconds, the team of researchers held their collective breath and waited.
As it shook violently, researchers watched anxiously to see if anything was jarring loose from the two-story house they built only a few months ago. But this natural disaster was actually a planned experiment.
Andre Filiatrault is lead UB engineer for the project. Researchers from five universities want to find out how well wood structures hold up under extreme events, such as quakes. Filiatrault is relieved. He said the house held up surprisingly well.
Not only didn't the house collapse, there wasn't even any easily detected damage. But the stress on the house and the researchers isn't over. Filiatrault said it is early in the four-year project, with several more increasingly intense shakes yet to come.
In November, researchers will shake the house at a six point seven magnitude. That's the same level quake that devastated parts of southern California in the 1994.
When the next test is done, it will be without the specially designed dampers that absorbed some of the shock from Thursday's experiment.
Renesselear Polytechnic Institute engineering professor Michael Symans is testing the dampers. He said in the final phase the dampers will be back, better than ever.
Researchers said they also needed the dampers for the initial tests to make sure the house held together enough to withstand the big shake in November.
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