E-Defense Earthquake Experiments
The E-defense collaborative earthquake experiments of 2019 were a series of large-scale earthquake simulations conducted in Japan to study the behavior of buildings and infrastructure under seismic activity. The experiments involved the use of the world's largest earthquake simulator and allowed researchers to test new earthquake-resistant technologies and materials to improve building safety and mitigate the impact of future earthquakes.
At the beginning of 2019, a RAPID team deployed to Japan to support Texas A&M University Assistant Professor Maria Koliou's research project investigating the seismic resilience of wood-frame building systems. The team used an array of RAPID instrumentation, including Leica BLK360 lidar scanners, Maptek LR3 (a long-range scanner), Leica TS16I (a robotic total station), Canon DSLR camera, and FLIR Thermal imaging camera.
At the end of 2019, RAPID staff deployed to Kobe, Japan, in support of UW Associate Professor Paolo Calvi's NSF-funded research project investigating the seismic performance of a full-scale, three-story reinforced concrete building system. The team used an array of RAPID instrumentation, including the Leica RTC360 medium-range lidar scanner, Leica P50 long-range lidar scanner, Leica TS16I robotic total station, and Canon DSLR camera to collect data before and after each of the three testing events throughout the week
