nees@berkeley
NEESR Activities
http://nees.berkeley.edu
Current Activities
Hybrid Simulation of Base Isolated Structures
PI: Stephen Mahin (UC Berkeley)
Graduate Student: Andreas Schellenberg (UC Berkeley)
Description: The goal of this Equipment Enhancement and Improvement (EEI) project is to develop
a hybrid simulation algorithm for a 6 degree of freedom system that would produce
results well correlated to shaking table tests
Test time: December, 2006 - May, 2007
Test laboratories: nees@berkeley Laboratory; EERC Shaking Table Laboratory
Participant: UC Berkeley
Real-Time Geographically Distributed Hybrid Simulation Using the Internet
PI’s: Stephen Mahin and Gregory Fenves (UCBerkeley)
Graduate Student: Andreas Schellenberg (UCBerkeley)
Description: Mr. Jon Lea, with help from Andreas Schellenberg, successfully conducted the
first-ever real-time hybrid simulation over the Internet. The structure was modeled using
OpenSees on a portable computer located in the NEES Inc. headquarters in Davis, CA.
It had a physical component located in the micro-nees lab of the nees@berkeley
equipment site. The connection between the computer and the physical model was
established through a general-purpose Ethernet connection and managed using the
OpenFresco framework. A 32-second long earthquake record was applied to the hybrid
model in a simulation that lasted 32 seconds.
Test time: December, 2006
Test Laboratiories: NEES Inc; nees@berkeley Laboratory
Participants: NEES Inc; UC Berkeley
NEESR-I & II: Large-Scale Testing and Micromechanical Simulation of Ultra-Low-Cycle
Fatigue Cracking in Steel Structures
PI: Amit M. Kanvinde (UC Davis) and Gregory G. Deierlein (Stanford University)
Graduate Students: Benjamin V. Fell (UC Davis) and Andy T. Myers (Stanford University)
Description: The aim of the project was to investigate Ultra-Low Cycle Fatigue (ULCF) in large-scale
welded steel columns. The extensive experimental study was complemented by
detailed continuum-based FEM and micromechanics-based models that capture the
fundamental processes of void growth, collapse, and damage responsible for ULCF.
Test time: Phase I: October-December, 2005; Phase II: August-September, 2006
Test laboratories: nees@berkeley Laboratory
Participants: UC Berkeley; UC Davis; Stanford University
The project team:
Bozidar Stojadinovic (PI), Nicholas Sitar (Co-PI)
Don Clyde (Equipment Site Operations), Shakhzod Takhirov (Test Operations)
Wesley Neighbour (System Operations)
Nancy Nelson (Administration and EOT Coordinator)
Donald Patterson and Debra Bartling (System & Network Administrators)
David MacLam, Jose Robles and Nathaniel Knight (Tech Supports)
Ninh Trinh (Administrative Assistant)
Future Activities
NEESR: International Hybrid Simulation of Tomorrows Braced Frame Systems
CMS-0619161 – PI: Professor Charles Roeder, University of Washington, Seattle
Braced frame systems offer an attractive solution to satisfy multiple design criteria within a performance-
based earthquake engineering (PBEE) framework. If detailed properly, their displacement and energy
dissipation capacities can meet severe demands resulting from extreme events. However, research
results have indicated that current design methods prevent braced frames with traditional and buckling-
restrained braces from achieving their potential. The dynamic behavior of three-dimensional steel braced
frame building systems is complex and often highly nonlinear. Assessing seismic performance in the
context of the true system response and developing practical engineering tools are central objectives of
this proposal.
Professor Stephen Mahin from the University of California, Berkeley will use advanced hybrid simulation
research methods and international, cooperative investigation to develop performance-based tools and
techniques for advanced seismic engineering of steel braced frame systems. The hybrid simulations
planned for nees@berkeley involve several full-scale brace frames, similar to the one shown below. The
frames, whose base shear capacity is almost 3,000 kips, will be tested to evaluate the interaction among
the gusset plates and braces on one side and beams and columns on the other side of the gusset plate
connection during earthquakes.
NEESR: Innovative Applications of Damage Tolerant Fiber-Reinforced Cementitious
Materials for New Earthquake-Resistant Structural Systems and Retrofit of Existing
Structures CMS-0530383 – PI: Professor J. Wight, University of Michigan
NEES testing facilities and associated simulation capabilities will be used to develop new coupled wall
systems and retrofit schemes for framed construction through the use of high-performance fiber
reinforced cement composites (HPFRCC). This research was conceived from the idea that the next
generation of reinforced concrete (RC) structures should utilize ductile cementitious materials in critical
regions, rather than extensive reinforcement detailing, to provide shear resistance and concrete
confinement. The development of ductile precast HPFRCC infill panels will result in an effective and
practical method for enhancing the strength, stiffness and energy dissipation capabilities of deficient steel
and RC frame structures, while allowing them to remain in full service during rehabilitation activities. The
results of this research will provide the NEES community with the capability of using more sophisticated
simulation models for hybrid testing of structural systems featuring HPFRCC.
Professor Sarah Billington from Stanford University is planning to conduct a hybrid simulation test to
evaluate the seismic response of a steel moment-resisting frame filled-in using specially designed
HPFRCC panels. Individual panels have been tested at the University of Michigan under static loading.
The tests planned for nees@berkeley are designed to examine the behavior of a system of panels and
their interaction with the steel frame.
NEESR: Experimental Determination of Performance of Drift-Sensitive Nonstructural
Systems under Seismic Loading CMS-0619157 – PI: Professor K. McMullin, San Jose State
University
This project addresses critical needs for the earthquake engineering community in providing quantified
values for the force-displacement relationships of nonstructural building components systems including
facades, plumbing and stairways. The data obtained from the project will allow building engineers to
model performance of these systems in both existing and future building designs. Improved computer
modeling tools for use with existing commercial software will be produced to simulate the response of
these systems to seismic excitation. Included in the performance of nonstructural components will be a
case study of the deconstruction of the components for both re-use and recycling of materials. A repair
cost analysis of a prototype nine-story steel frame building will be made to develop a relationship between
damage cost of nonstructural components and peak drift a building experiences during an earthquake.
Professor Bozidar Stojadinovic from the University of California, Berkeley, is planning to conduct two tests
on a 2-story model of the building cladding, piping and ceiling nonstructural systems typical for steel
moment frame buildings. The REPEAT frame, a reconfigurable steel frame with coupon-clevis
connections, will be used to support the nonstructural elements. The first, quasi-static, test will be used to
identify the properties and failure modes of the nonstructural elements. The second test, a hybrid
simulation, will be used to examine how the nonstructural elements will interact with each other during an
earthquake.
NEESR-III: Large-Scale Testing and Micromechanical Simulation of Ultra-Low-Cycle Fatigue
Cracking in Steel Structures CMS-0421492 – PI: Professor Amit Kanvinde, University of
California, Davis
The PI and collaborators have developed a plan to test column base plate connections to evaluate
seismic performance. The next phase (Phase III) of research will be conducted at the nees@berkeley
equipment site between June and September 2007. A final phase (Phase IV) of research will be
conducted from June – August 2008. The NSF-NEESR project has been extended and now expires on 31
October, 2008. The final phase will be conducted with the helped of NEESR as well as AISC funds. The
aim of the project is to investigate shear transfer mechanisms in column base plate details. The
specimens are representative of column base plates in braced frames, and incorporate the effect of axial
load on shear capacity. Various issues, including grout friction, anchor rod fracture and shear-key failure
will be investigated. Although the details have not been finalized yet, approximately six large scale
specimens of column base plates will be tested during Phase III, and six more during Phase IV. (Please
see illustrative figure below. Actual setup may differ.)
 nees@berkeley
Education and Outreach
http://nees.berkeley.edu
Workshops
The nees@berkeley equipment site hosts workshops on hybrid simulation that attract
researchers from around the world interested in learning about this exciting technology. Hybrid
simulation is a set of methods for examining the seismic response of structures using a model
comprised of both physical and numerical substructures. These workshop are for NEES
researchers, both current and future.
During the workshop, the basics of hybrid simulation are reviewed, including similitude
requirements for model design, model implementation including integration methods, and
simulation result interpretation. Demonstrations of hybrid simulation are conducted using the
nees@berkeley hardware and OpenSees and OpenFresco softwares. Hybrid simulations are
developed with the help of our staff, implemened and run at nees@berkeley equipment site.
April 2007 Workshop December 2006 Workshop
Tours
The nees@berkeley equipment site conducts tours for visiting researchers, engineering
professionals and members of the general public. Recent visitors to our facility have come
from:
• Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning, Morocco
• Oakland Unified School District, Instructional Services, Oakland CA
• Halla Engineering and Construction Corp, Seoul, Korea
• Technical Mission of Chilean Professional Engineers (US State Dept.), Chile
• Universidad Mariano Galvez de Guatemala, Guatemala
• Myongji University, Seoul, Korea
• School of Civil Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
• School of Urban Construction, Yangtze University, Hubei, China
• University of San Francisco, architecture students, San Francisco, CA
• Nikken Sekkei LTD, Tokyo, Japan
• Graduate School of Journalism, The Knight New Media Center, UC Berkeley, Berkeley
CA
• Chancellor’s Office, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
We recently participated in two open house events:
• Celebration by the Bay, October 15, 2006, the watershed project, Richmond Field
Station, UCB.
• Cal Day Open House, April 22, 2007, U.C. Berkeley, Richmond Field Station, UCB.
K-12 Education
We are developing a field trip program for classes from local middle and high schools. With
the assistance of a high school student intern and two undergraduate students from CAMP
(California Alliance for Minority Participation in Science, Engineering and Mathematics), we
hope to have a final program available for fall of 2007. This program will consist of a slide
show about earthquake engineering and a tour of the EERC and nees@berkeley equipment
sites. Early drafts of scripts for both of these are being reviewed. We are also developing a
construction project. This project involves a small structure that can be built in the classroom
and brought to the EERC / nees@berkeley equipment site to be tested on our small shaking
table as part of the tour. Alternatively, we can broadcast the tests of the structures so the
students can watch from their classroom. We will be hosting 60+ teachers in late June for an
afternoon of talks and tours about earthquake engineering which will end with a brainstorming
session about our proposed program. We are hopeful that this session will give us some
insight and will strengthen our program.
Video Nuggets
We are planning to work with a local high school teacher to develop a protocol for video
nuggets to be prepared for each project in our lab. These nuggets can then be used as
educational tools alone or as a part of a presentation on earthquake engineering. We hope to
use this protocol to edit footage of older tests that are of interest to the earthquake engineering
community as well as to educators.
Research Experience for Undergraduates
This summer, we are hosting undergraduates from the CAMP program and the NEES REU
program. The CAMP students will be helping us with our K-12 outreach program. The NEES
REU, Jorge Camacho, will be working with Amit Kanvinde on his NEES-R project.
NSLC Engineering Summer 2007 Program at UC Berkeley
The nees@berkeley equipment site will host over 200 high school students from across the
country this summer from the National Leadership Training Conference. They will view
presentations about earthquake engineering and tour our laboratory facilities. In the summer of
2006, we hosted 145 students for the same program.
The project team:
Bozidar Stojadinovic (PI), Nicholas Sitar (Co-PI)
Don Clyde (Equipment Site Operations), Shakhzod Takhirov (Test Operations)
Wesley Neighbour (System Operations)
Nancy Nelson (Administration & EOT Coordinator)
Donald Patterson and Debra Bartling (System & Network Administrators)
David MacLam, Jose Robles and Nathaniel Knight (Tech Supports)
Ninh Trinh (Administrative Assistant)