[GSBN] earthquake footings

[Derek Stearns Roff]

I don’t know what percentage of us design or build in areas of high earthquake risk.  I was intrigued with the 10 minute video linked below, which describes building a house connected to the foundation only by gravity.  The house sits on a number of plastic pads, each about 100mm in diameter.  Each pad sits in a shallow dish 750mm in diameter.  The idea is that the ground can shake and move under the house, while the house itself will move to a smaller extent, with lower acceleration.  The dished support plates encourage the house to re-settle near the center of the dishes.  Professors and students from several universities are shown in the video.  They claim “damage-free” in a 6.9-magnitude earthquake, simulated on a full-scale shake table test.  

http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/37953/the-house-that-shrugs-off-an-earthquake?&lookup=auto&V27=&V28=&V29=&V30=&V31=&V32=&V33=&V34=&V35=&V55=&V56=&Taun_Per_Flag=True&utm_source=eletter&utm_medium=eletter&utm_content=fhb_eletter&utm_campaign=fine-homebuilding-eletter

Derek

Derek Roff
derek at unm.edu