This award provides funding for University of Illinois - Urbana - Champaign (UIUC) to purchase advanced instrumentation and do associated work for the George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) - Multi -Axial Full scale Sub-Structuring Testing and Simulation Facility that will be operated by NEES Consortium, Inc., as a national shared use facility during FY 2005 - FY 2014. This award provides funding for the 5-DOF load cells for LBCBs to enable the accurate application of forces on the test structures, a 6-DOF joystick controller for accurate alignment of the loading platform and associated instrumentation, and material and supplies. The instrumentation was selected based on comments by two annual site review panels to improve the accuracy of load being applied to test structures. This augmented instrumentation will enable researchers to provide accuracy in measuring loads being applied to test structures, and to move and align the loading platform more accurately under low pressure. This award is funded by the NSF NEES Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC) project and is a component of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP).
