Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Building Shaker Quake Machine
How will a tall building react to earthquake-like stresses? Computer modeling has helped until now. However, there is nothing like a good, real-world test. Engineers from the San Diego Supercomputer Center have combined the best of both worlds by putting up a full-size 275 ton building on a shake table.
(The real-world building)
Not just any shake table - the world's largest outdoor Large High Performance (LHP) shake table developed for the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) project.
The building was equipped with hundreds of sensors to yield precision data on how the building flexed during simulated quakes. It turned out that listening to audio and sensor data provided the key to comparing the film footage of the real building, and the pictures of the simulated building structure.
"By recreating the shake table experiment in movies in a virtual environment based on the observed data, this lets engineers explore all the way from viewing the 'big picture' of the entire building from a 360-degree viewpoint to zooming in close to see what happened to a specific support," said SDSC visualization scientist Amit Chourasia. "Integrating these disparate data elements into a visual model can lead to critical new insights."
(The computer model of the building under stress)
The simulations show how the specific parts of the building are moving. Comparing the real-world data with the computer model helps them improve their model; this improves the accuracy of the model when simulating the effects of stronger quakes.
Is it possible to build a structure that moves and adjusts to quake-induced stresses, one that intelligently analyzes the movements and counteracts them? Not yet. But in the imagination of Vernor Vinge, author of Rainbows End, an excellent 2006 novel, there is a way - he calls it house-of-cards construction:
You could feel the wall sway gently back and forth as the building kept its balance. That sort of thing made his ma real nervous. "One second of system failure and everything will fall apart!" she had complained...
(Read more about house-of-cards construction)
Read about a new technique that might be a first step to a real-world self-healing house. Find out more about the shake table experiments here and here.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 4/17/2007)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Engineering ")
Tornyol Microdrone Kills Mosquitoes
'The real border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.'
PLATO Spacecraft, Hunter Of Habitable Planets, Now Ready
'I ... set my automatic astronomical instruments to searching for a habitable planet.' Edmond Hamilton (1936).
Did The Yautja Have These First?
What a marvel of ingenuity the little device was! - Harry Bates, 1934.
Jetson ONE Air Races Begin, Can Air Polo Be Far Behind?
'If you're one of those rarities who haven't attended a rocket-polo "carnage", let me tell you it's a colorful affair.' - John Victor Peterson, 1938.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Natural Gait With Prosthetic Connected To Nervous System
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain...'
Woman Marries Computer, Vonnegut's Dream Comes True
'Men are made of protoplasm... Lasts forever.'
Spidery 'Walk Me' Toyota Autonomous Wheel Chair Like Star Wars
Walk along with the emperor.
Dancing Robots Taught Dance Moves
'A clockwork figure would be the thing for you...'
Proof Of Robothood - Not A Person
'Who are you people? - Show 'em.'
Indonesian Clans Battle
'The observation vehicle was of that peculiar variety used in conveying a large number of people across rough terrain.'
The 'Last Mile' In China Crowded With Delivery Robots
Yes, it's a delivery robot. On wheels.
Tornyol Microdrone Kills Mosquitoes
'The real border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.'
PLATO Spacecraft, Hunter Of Habitable Planets, Now Ready
'I ... set my automatic astronomical instruments to searching for a habitable planet.'
Factory Humanoid Robots Built By Humanoid Robots
'...haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?'
iPhone Air Fulfils Jobs' Promise From 2007 - A Giant Screen!
'... oblongs were all over the floor and surfaces.'
ChatGPT Now Participates in Group Chats
'...the city was their laboratory in human psychology.'
iPhone Pocket All Sold Out!
'A long, strong, slender net...'
Did The Yautja Have These First?
What a marvel of ingenuity the little device was!
Jetson ONE Air Races Begin, Can Air Polo Be Far Behind?
'If you're one of those rarities who haven't attended a rocket-polo "carnage", let me tell you it's a colorful affair.'
Will Space Stations Have Large Interior Spaces Again?
'They filed clumsily into the battleroom, like children in a swimming pool for the first time, clinging to the handholds along the side.'
