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Media Advisory 08-037
Spanning the Future of Infrastructure
High-tech bridge to be assaulted with large earthquake
December 8, 2008
This Thursday, researchers at the University of Nevada-Reno (UNR) will shake a 110-foot, four-span bridge with tortuous motions comparable to an 8.0 magnitude earthquake. The bridge, constructed over many months atop three enormous shake tables, is a test bed for cutting-edge construction technologies of the future. Many of the new materials--including nickel-titanium bars, elastomeric materials, and polyvinyl fiber concrete--are being tested in a bridge system for the first time. | What: | Earthquake-scale shaking of an experimental four-span bridge.
| | Where: | The James E. Rogers and Louis Wiener Jr. Large-Scale Structures Laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno, one of the three shake-table research sites of the National Science Foundation's network of 15 large-scale, experimental sites called the George E. Brown Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation.
| | Who: | Researchers from UNR; University of California, Berkeley; University of California, San Diego; Florida International University; Georgia Tech; Stanford University; University of Kansas; University of Illinois, Chicago; Tokyo Institute of Technology; and the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia are participating in this research project.
| | When: | Dec. 11, 2008, 1:30 p.m. ET
| | Contact: | To view the event in person or via webcast (registration required), contact Mike Wolterbeek at awolterbeek@unr.edu. |
-NSF-
Facts About the Bridge Design: Four spans, one-fourth scale
Weight: 210 tons (with added weight)
Dimensions: 110 feet-long, 8 feet-wide, 10 feet-high
Primary components: 60 cubic yards of concrete; 16,000 lbs of steel
Media Contacts
Joshua A. Chamot, NSF (703) 292-7730 jchamot@nsf.gov
Mike Wolterbeek, University of Nevada, Reno (775) 784-4547 awolterbeek@unr.edu
Program Contacts
Joy M. Pauschke, NSF (703) 292-7024 jpauschk@nsf.gov
Principal Investigators
M. Saiid Saiidi, University of Nevada, Reno (775) 784-4839 saiidi@unr.edu
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states through grants to over 1,900 universities and institutions. Each year,
NSF receives about 45,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes over
11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards over $400 million in
professional and service contracts yearly.
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