9703522 Buckle This project convenes a US-Japan Workshop on Seismic Retrofit of ridges and Tsukuba, Japan in December 1996. This Workshop will involve researchers and designers from both countries to discuss progress in the development and application of earthquake protective systems to bridges and seismic retrofit of bridges. topics to be covered include: (1) innovative protective systems; (2) design methods for base isolated bridges; (3) design of utilities carried by isolated bridges so as to accommodate movement; and (4) full-scale verification of performance. A comparison of US and Japanese isolation designs for the same bridge will also made. The program also includes site visits to several base-isolated bridges as well as several major bridges currently under construction in Japan. The Workshop which is jointly supported by NSF and Federal Highway Administration, will provide an added emphasis on active and hybrid addition, the performance of seismically isolated bridges and buildings affected by the Northridge and Hanshin- Awaji earthquakes will be examined. Opportunities for the development of cooperative projects beneficial to both the U.S. and Japan will also be identified as a result of these workshops.
