NSF award 0529903, entitled "NEESR SG: NEESwood - Development of a Performance-Based Seismic Design Philosophy for Mid-Rise Woodframe Construction," is conducting its capstone seismic tests on a six-story wood frame building using Japan's E-Defense shake table in Miki, Japan, during June and July 2009. The E-Defense shake table is operated by Japan's National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention and is the world's largest shake table. The goal of the NEESwood project is to provide the knowledge needed to make construction of midrise wood frame structures in seismic regions more feasible. The NEESwood project's wood frame structure will be the largest structure tested to date at E-Defense. This apartment/condominium building has 1400 square meters of living space for 23 living units. Using the E-Defense shake table, this building will undergo its final test on July 14, 2009, using a 2500-year earthquake considered the MCE-level event in Los Angeles, CA, as the seismic excitation. Given the uniqueness of the E-Defense facility and this landmark capstone test, travel support will be provided for up to ten early career researchers to participate in these tests. Activities are planned for participants during July 12-15, 2009. The intellectual merit is that the supported researchers will learn about the NEESwood project and its goals, gain first hand experience with experimental testing at E-Defense, participate in the post-shake damage inspection, and meet Japanese researchers. The broader impact of their participation is the opportunity to explore NEES/E-Defense collaborations with Japanese researchers in earthquake engineering. The results of the capstone tests will be broadly disseminated world-wide through various media channels, including a webcast.
