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Session 1526

Current Directions in Earthquake Engineering Education: The University Consortium on Instructional Shake Tables

S.J. Dyke, K.Z. Truman, and P.L. Gould Washington University in St. Louis

Abstract

Although considering the dynamic behavior of buildings and bridges is of fundamental impor- tance in modern structural design, undergraduate civil engineering students seldom develop an understanding of the way that these structures respond when acted upon by time-varying loads. Because this topic is of great social and economical importance, there is a need in current civil engineering programs to provide more formal training in structural dynamics and earthquake haz- ard mitigation at the undergraduate level. Further, many students in non-engineering disciplines would gain from such exposure to basic concepts in earthquake engineering. The University Con- sortium on Instructional Shake Tables was formed to integrate earthquake engineering into the undergraduate civil engineering curriculum. The twenty-three universities forming the consor- tium are cooperating to develop a series of “hands-on” experiments for students at all levels. The experiments focus on the use of a bench-scale shake table. This program is expected to serve as a national (and international) model for integrating structural dynamics and earthquake engineering into the undergraduate curriculum.

1. Introduction

One of the most important challenges facing structural engineers of today is the development and implementation of effective techniques for minimizing the severe and often tragic consequences of earthquakes. To meet this challenge, future structural engineers must possess an understanding of the dynamic response of structures such as buildings, bridges, and towers to strong ground motion. Although considering the dynamic behavior of these structures is of fundamental impor- tance in modern structural design worldwide, undergraduate civil engineering students seldom develop an understanding of the way that these structures respond when acted upon by time-vary- ing loads. There is a need for integrating this important topic into the undergraduate curriculum.

Experiments are quite effective for demonstrating basic concepts in structural dynamics and earthquake engineering. Even at the undergraduate level, concepts in dynamics such as natural frequencies and mode shapes can clearly be portrayed during such experiments. To gain an under- standing of the behavior of structures subjected to earthquakes, it is helpful to have the capabili- ties of modifying the dynamic characteristics of the test specimens, selecting different earthquake inputs, and measuring and analyzing structural responses. Students could learn these principles through the introduction of a series of “hands-on” experiments and classroom demonstrations throughout their coursework.

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Dyke, S. J., & Gould, P., & Truman, K. (2000, June), Current Directions In Earthquake Engineering Education: The University Consortium On Instructional Shake Tables Paper presented at 2000 Annual Conference, St. Louis, Missouri. 10.18260/1-2--8254