Through this equipment grant project, the Graduate Program of Building Science at the School of Architecture, University of Southern California, will procure computer and testing equipment, dedicated to support earthquake research in building science. The equipment will be for research projects in various stages of development, including: 1) Lateral Design Graphs (LDG); 2) Vibration Reduction Using Prestress in Wood Floor Framing; 3) Computer Simulation Comparing Lateral Drift of Framing Systems; 4) Suspended High-rise Structures: Methods to Reduce Drift; and 5) Orthogonal Grid Shell: Static Model Test Comparing Deflections to Forms. All projects are related and of importance to earthquake hazard mitigation activity. This equipment grant action will greatly elevate the University's experimental research capability in support of its excellent building science research and education program.
