Submitted to the 7th US National Conference on Earthquake Engineering,

EERI, Boston, MA, July 2125, 2002.

ADVANCING EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING EDUCATION THROUGH A COOPERATIVE

EFFORT BASED ON INSTRUCTIONAL SHAKE TABLES

S.J. Dyke1, S.M. Johnson2, R.T. Ranf,3 J.M. Caicedo4, and M. Soto-Fournier5

ABSTRACT

The University Consortium of Instructional Shake Tables (UCIST) was formed in

1998 to enhance undergraduate and graduate education in earthquake engineering
(see: http://ucist.cive.wustl.edu/). This educational consortium, a joint effort
between several universities associated with the three national earthquake centers,
has endeavored to enhance the education of civil engineering undergraduates
through the procurement of instructional shake tables and the development of cor-
responding curricula to be used at the undergraduate level. Additionally, outreach
activities and undergraduate research opportunities are encouraged with of this
equipment. The consortium is headquartered at Washington University in St.
Louis. This paper will discuss the accomplishments of the UCIST project to date.
Specifically, achievements relevant to the overall goal of incorporating structural
dynamics and control into the undergraduate civil engineering curriculum will be
described, including the development of hands-on experiments, implementation
of the equipment for undergraduate research, as well as relevant outreach efforts
and undergraduate research opportunities.

Introduction

Although considering the dynamic behavior of these structures is of significant importance

in modern structural design worldwide, undergraduate civil engineering students do not often
have an opportunity to develop an understanding of the ways these structures respond when acted
upon by time-varying loads. Because structural engineers of the future will be expected to imple-
ment the latest techniques for minimizing damage to structures subjected to such loading condi-
tions and incorporate their knowledge in the design process, there is a need for integrating this
important topic into the undergraduate curriculum.

1 Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil Engrg., Washington Univ., St. Louis, MO, USA, sdyke@seas.wustl.edu
2 Grad. Res. Asst., Dept. of Civil Engrg., Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. (formerly Undergrad. Res. Asst. at
Washington Univ.) smjohns@mit.edu
3 Undergrad. Res. Asst., Dept. of Civil Engrg., Washington Univ., St. Louis, MO, USA, rtr1@cive.wustl.edu
4 Doctoral Cand., Dept. of Civil Engrg., Washington Univ., St. Louis, MO, USA, jc11@cive.wustl.edu
5 Undergrad. Res. Asst., Dept. of Civil Engrg., University of Memphis (formerly Undergrad. Res. Asst. at
Washington Univ.)
 Even at the undergraduate level, many concepts in dynamics such as natural frequencies
and mode shapes can be clearly demonstrated through hands-on experiments. Shake tables have
been used at several universities for educating students about earthquake engineering and struc-
tural dynamics (for example, Kukreti and Wallace, 1996, Dyke et al., 2000a,b; Dyke 1997, 2000).
Instructional shake tables (at bench-scale) are ideal to provide students access to such hands-on
experiments. At this scale, students can design and build model structures, modify their struc-
tures, observe structural responses, measure structural responses, and test soil dynamics.

Based on this concept, the University Consortium on Instructional Shake Tables (UCIST)
was formed to strategically integrate earthquake engineering and structural dynamics into the
undergraduate civil engineering curriculum. UCIST is a consortium of twenty three universities
associated with the three national earthquake engineering centers the Pacific Earthquake Engi-
neering Research Center (PEER), the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering
Research (MCEER), and the Mid-America Earthquake Center (MAE). This cooperative effort is
expected to have a significant impact on the future direction of civil engineering education and
serve as a future model for educational efforts. We anticipate that this nationwide effort will result
in widespread adoption of this approach by civil engineering educators. As an indication of the
potential of this program, over 40 universities (including several beyond the original 23) have
obtained these shake tables since the UCIST was formed.

Constantly evolving technologies such as the internet continue to reveal exciting avenues of
communication and outreach that would have been unthinkable several years ago. The internet
has made the field of earthquake engineering more accessible to both the public and the academic
worlds. The experiments and curricular materials are freely available on the internet at the UCIST
web site (http://ucist.cive.wustl.edu/). We aim to use electronic media and the internet to its full
potential for the education and outreach activities. Combining the development of an inexpensive
and highly-mobile bench-scale shake table with the medium of the internet, the University Con-
sortium of Instructional Shake Tables (UCIST) has been able to use an integrated approach to
teaching earthquake engineering with a civil engineering focus. All institutions are welcome to
join the consortium. The only expectation is that the integrate UCIST experiments into their cur-
riculum. All members are encouraged to submit experiments and projects developed for the
equipment to the web site, so that other institutions can benefit from their experiences.

The UCIST consortium has made substantial progress since its inception in 1998. This
paper will summarize UCIST activities to date. The universities that compose the consortium
have each purchased an instructional shake table lab station. Several tutorials, experiments and
videos have been developed, and several more are in progress. Each university is also integrating
at least three experiments into their undergraduate curriculum. Exposure to these topics early in a
student's education can also engender interest in relevant research by the student. To augment the
classroom activities, the UCIST equipment is available for undergraduate research experiences
and nationwide contests involving design problems. This paper will focus on tutorials and
projects that are already completed. These experiments and projects are available for download
from the UCIST web site, and include both student and instructor manuals as well as necessary
supporting material to reproduce the experiment. Several additional institutions have been
involved in public outreach activities, and some of these will be briefly described herein.
 Strategic Objectives of the UCIST

The primary goal of the UCIST program is to instruct undergraduate students in concepts in
structural dynamics, earthquake resistant design, geotechnical engineering, and more generally, in
topics related to earthquake engineering. This goal is being achieved primarily through the intro-
duction of experiments in earthquake engineering throughout the civil engineering undergraduate
curriculum. The experiments focus on the use of hands-on seismic simulation experiments
which offer students opportunities to operate the shake table, excite scaled models of various civil
engineering structures (e.g., buildings, bridges, towers, etc.) with typical earthquake loads, learn
basic concepts in structural dynamics, and utilize sensors to measure responses of the structures.
Experiments are being developed for students at all levels from freshman level introductory
courses through senior/graduate level courses. The basic strategy behind the program described
herein is to work collaboratively to achieve the project objectives, resulting in a well-rounded
series of experiments that are geared for undergraduate students at all levels.

The specific objectives of these activities are: i) to

develop an understanding and an intuition regarding the Primary
PrimaryActivities
Activities
dynamic nature of structures in undergraduate students;
ii) to reinforce theoretical concepts through the use of Classroom Experiments
hands-on laboratory experiments; iii) to provide expe- Videos of Experiments
rience in the use of modern engineering tools including Student Competitions
sensors, actuators, and data acquisition/analysis equip- CD-ROM of Experiments
ment; iv) to provide non-engineering students with
exposure to the potential consequences of earthquakes Secondary
SecondaryActivities
Activities
and the dynamic behavior of civil engineering struc-
tures; v) to provide exposure to emerging technologies Undergrad. Research Projects
and modern methods in seismic resistant design; and vi) Public and K-12 Outreach
to improve technical communication abilities through
written reports and oral presentations. These objectives
are being achieved through the development of a series Figure 1. UCIST activities.
of illustrative structural dynamics experiments and vid-
eos, and the integration of these experiments into the undergraduate curriculum. Furthermore,
experiments are being developed for non-engineering students that will benefit from such expo-
sure (e.g. architects and geo-scientists). Additional activities include plans for developing nation-
wide competitions in earthquake resistant design as well as research opportunities for
undergraduate and graduate students.

Information on the use of the instructional shake tables, updates for the software used to
drive the table, algorithms and Simulink models developed for the tables, as well as published
papers by UCIST members on structural dynamics topics are also available on-line at the UCIST
web site.

Instructional Shake Table Lab Station

In June of 1998, a task force was formed with representatives from each center to develop a
strategy to achieve this goal, identify equipment specifications, contact vendors to develop bench-
scale shake tables, and select the equipment to purchase. Three vendors participated in developing
prototype units and bidding on the project. The bench scale shaking table selected by the UCIST
Task Force is produced by Quanser Consulting, Inc1. This instrument, shown in Figure 2, consists
of a 18x18 aluminum plate, which slides on high precision linear bearings and is driven by a
Kollmorgan Silverline Model H-344-H-0600 electric motor fitted with a 1000 LPR IP 40 encoder.
The earthquake simulator uses unit gain displacement feedback, and control is achieved using a
MultiQ board. The MultiQ board is a general purpose data acquisition and control board which
has 8 single ended analog inputs, 8 analog outputs, 16 bits of digital input, 16 bits of digital out-
puts, 3 programmable timers and up to 8 encoder inputs decoded in quadrature. The operational
range of the simulator is 020 Hz. The capabilities of the shake table are summarized in Table 1.

The shake table is controlled by a Pentium computer using Wincon software. The package
comes with several historical earthquake records. Time and amplitude scaling is readily imple-
mented using the provided software. In addition to the shake table, the laboratory package pur-
chased includes a two story test structure and three accelerometer to measure the excitation and
system responses. The package also includes a stand-alone function generator for off-site demon-
strations. The complete package allows students to reproduce earthquakes, observe structural
behavior, measure structural responses, and utilize sensors and modern computer control systems.
Further the system purchased facilitates off-site demonstrations and other outreach activities.

Outcomes to Date

Several tutorials and sample experiments have been developed to get users started using the
equipment. Additionally, many of the individual experiments have been completed and submitted
to the web site. These are available for downloading to interested parties. This section will sum-
marize the results to date.

Tutorials and Sample Experiments

To accelerate the learning curve associated with using this equipment, several projects and
manuals have been developed for implementation with the shake table. The manuals were written
to provide as a guide for conducting the experiments that were produced, as well as to allow the

Table 1: Shake table capabilities.

Specification Value
Design Payload 25 lbf
Peak Acceleration 1g
Operational Frequency 0-20 Hz
Range
Peak Velocity 20 in/s
Table Dimensions 18 x 18
Stroke 6 (+/- 3)
Weight of Shake Table ~<100 lbf

Figure 2. Instructional shake table lab station.

1 Quanser Consulting, 102 George Street Hamilton, Ontario, CANADA (http://www.quanser.com/).

user to extend their knowledge of the functions of the shake table. Since the consortium is rela-
tively new, the learning speed of faculty, graduates, and undergraduates has been greatly ampli-
fied by the sharing of these outcomes.
Table 2: Samples and tutorials developed for UCIST.
Title of Project Attributes Project Summary
Sample Experiments and Projects
Introduction to Authors: The purpose of this experiment is to introduce students to
Dynamics of Juan Caicedoa, principles in structural dynamics. Natural frequencies,
Structures Sinique Betancourta, & mode shapes and damping ratios for a small scale structure
Institution: Shirley Dyke will be obtained experimentally through a series of tests.
Washington University Students will use a Matlab GUI program to obtain experi-
mental data of the structure and analyze the data.
K-12 Outreach Activi- Authors: K-12 students will investigate the seismic behavior of
ties in Earthquake Bill Spencer buildings to better understand the way in which civil engi-
Engineering neering structures respond to earthquakes. The students will
Institution: design and construct model buildings for testing during
University of Notre class visits. K'Nex and Lego buildings are used.
Dame
Relevant Supporting Documents and Media
Shake Table Author: This manual was created as a tool to learn to operate the
Interactive Manual Keenan Bullb shake table. It is an interactive, web based manual that
guides the reader through table setup and operation.
Guide to Creating Author: This is a manual that was created as a tool for creating Sim-
Simulink Models for Scott Johnsonb ulink models to use on the shake table. It contains the basic
the UCIST Table procedures for all of the parts necessary for composing and
building a model.
Kobe Earthquake Authors: The Kobe Earthquake Simulation is a video of a building on
Simulation Tyler Ranfb & the shake table that is being excited by a time history of the
Euridice Owareb Kobe earthquake.
Increasing Amplitude Authors: The increasing amplitude sine function simulation is a
Sine Function Tyler Ranfb & video that was produced to show the structural response to a
Simulation Euridice Owareb sine function with different amplitudes.
Virtual Structural Authors: This is a web-based program that serves as a tutorial on
Dynamics Lab Manolo Soto-Fournierb experimental methods, data acquisition, and sensors for
& Juan Caicedoa typical dynamic testing.
Implementation of Author: This program will implement the transfer function iteration
Transfer Function Tyler Ranf b algorithm to accurately reproduce historical earthquakes on
Iteration Program the shake table. This iteration program uses programs that
were previously developed by Yang & Spencer (1998), and
later revised by Nepote, et al. (2000).
a. Graduate Research Assistant at time work was performed.
b. Undergraduate Research Assistant at time work was performed.

The first item listed in Table 2 is an experiment intended for undergraduate use. This exper-
iment fully utilizes the capabilities of the shake table, and was developed at Washington Univer-
sity to serve as an example for other investigators. The second item listed is a sample outreach
activity developed at the University of Notre Dame. This experiment has been successfully imple-
mented in the classroom (see: http://www.nd.edu/~eeriund/ucist.html). The next three outcomes
are manuals that describe the proper procedure for running the shake table and for controlling the
shake table by the shake table through Simulink. These can be accessed through the UCIST web
site. The main page of the interactive manual that introduces the user to the shake table, and
describes the steps required to properly set up the table is displayed in Figure 3.

The Virtual Structural Dynamics Labo-

ratory (VSDL) facilitates education in experi-
mental dynamic testing. The purpose of this
tool is to give students a more widespread and
accessible means of performing shake table
experiments without the presence of a shake
table. Students attending UCIST schools and
non-UCIST school alike will use the VSDL
program. Users are able to vary several
parameters of a multi-story building model
and visualize the behavior. User-defined vari-
ables (such as type of sensors, number of
floors, floor properties, input gains, etc) are
varied to allow users to investigate phenom-
ena such as aliasing in data acquisition, the Figure 3. Interactive operating manual.
need for appropriate sensor selection, quanti-
zation errors. The VSDL uses a Macromedia
Shockwave interface coupled with a simulation engine to offer an engaging, interactive tutorial
based on experiments that could be performed with the instructional shake table. The main inter-
face page, as well as the page displaying the mode shapes is shown in figure 4.

The transfer function iteration utility is the most recent development. It facilitates the accu-
rate reproduction of scaled earthquakes, or other time history records, with the instructional shake
table. This is implemented in MATLAB and adapted for the instructional shake table from previ-
ous versions of the code (Spencer and Yang, 1998; Nepote et al. 2000). Details on the algorithm
and implementations on actual shake tables can be found in these references.

(a) Main page (b) Mode shape page

Figure 4. Virtual structural dynamics lab interactive web-based instructional tool.
Projects Completed To Date

Many other experiments have been developed, or are in progress, by schools within the con-
sortium. These experiments are intended for undergraduate coursework, or for outreach activities.
They can be downloaded from the UCIST web site and used with the equipment. Each experiment
is expected to have a student manual and instructor manual, shop drawings if necessary, visual
aids or videos when appropriate, and sample data and observations. A complete list of the experi-
ments completed to date is provided in Table 3. Note that these projects span a wide range of dis-
ciplines within earthquake engineering, including structural, geotech, and social science. Several
more projects will be available on the UCIST web site in the near future.
Table 3: Completed projects to date.
Title & Attributes Project Summary
Demonstration of A cutaway and see-through model of a home was created for the shake table to dem-
Non-Structural Seismic onstrate non-structural seismic hazards. The demonstration will be set up so that
Hazards in the Home heavy objects fall from high shelves, bookcases tip over, pictures fall off walls, and a
Institution: water heater topples. The purpose of the demonstration is to educate the general pub-
University of Nevada, lic about nonstructural hazards and some simple things they can do to make their
Las Vegas homes safer during an earthquake.
Liquefaction Demo This experiment demonstrates to a wide audience the effects of soil liquefaction on
Institution: structures. The experiment is designed to be inexpensive and portable to allow easy
Southern Illinois transportation for demonstrations at schools and museums.
University, Edwardsville
K-12 Outreach Activities Students will investigate the seismic behavior of buildings made from masonry and
in Earthquake steel to better understand the way in which civil engineering structures respond to
Engineering severe earthquakes. The students will design and construct model buildings that will
Institution: be tested on the bench-scale shaking tables during class visits. Both K'Nex and Lego
University of Notre Dame building systems will be provided.
Tuning of a Vibration absorbers are relatively small mass-spring systems that are calibrated to be
Vibration Absorber in resonance with the structure on which they are installed. These systems, usually
on UCIST Shake Table installed on the roof of buildings, have been proven effective to reduce wind-induced
Institution: vibrations in high-rise buildings, floor vibrations induced by occupant activity, and
University of the seismic response of buildings. The purpose of this project is to demonstrate the
California, San Diego effectiveness of vibrations absorbers in reducing the seismic response of structures.
Determination of Natural The effect of control devices will be demonstrated on a two story structure. The stu-
Frequencies & Mode dents will calculate the natural frequency of the structure and design and construct a
Shapes of Multi-Degree of suitable passive tuned mass damper. The results from this passive system will be
Freedom Structures compared to the uncontrolled building model and a building model with an active
Institution: mass driver. The demonstrations will benefit the First Year Engineering course and
Florida A&M the Civil Engineering Mechanics course, or to complement instruction in the
advanced senior and graduate level Structural Dynamics course.
Earthquake-Resistant This project is intended for entry level engineering students at either the freshman or
Bridge Competition sophomore level. Student teams design a small truss bridge from balsa wood and the
for Introductory competition is based upon the ability to support a given gravity load while exposed to
Engineering Students a transverse lateral motion generated by the shake table. The winning bridge is the
Institution: entry that supports the highest mass while being shaken by the most severe earth-
San Jose State University quake motion.
 Table 3: Completed projects to date.
Title & Attributes Project Summary
Small Shake Table This project describes the necessary steps to run an earthquake simulation on the
Experiments and UCIST Shake Table and to create the corresponding SAP 2000 model. The manual
Comparison to starts with some basic information about the UCIST equipment and explains how to
Analytical Predictions build a 3D model. It goes on to explain how to determine properties of the 3D model,
Institution: including stiffness and damping. The manual ends with the steps for developing the
Oregon State University SAP 2000 model.
Experimental Researchers have designed an experiment to be conducted on the instructional shak-
Identification of Dynamic ing table to introduce some basic concepts of seismic response of structures. Using
Properties of Small-Scale the shake table, students can observe how the dynamic response of a simple portal
Model Frames frame changes by doubling the mass and by doubling the stiffness. Students will have
Institution: the opportunity to compare calculated periods with actual measured periods. More-
Penn State University over, the experiment allows students to realize how the stiffness of a frame is depen-
dent on the assumption for boundary conditions of the members and how close these
assumption are relative to the actual stiffness of a built model.

Outreach Activities

A secondary objective of UCIST is to improve public awareness of earthquake hazards and

to inform the public of a safe way to reduce these possible hazards by proper mitigation. Public
interest in this area tends to peak shortly after an earthquake, and then quickly die down after the
memories of the earthquake become less acute. This is particularly true when the damage from the
earthquake was not that severe. For example, the Nisqually earthquake that occurred near Olym-
pia, Washington on February 28, 2001. After the earthquake, there was a lot of media on proper
mitigation for the public. However, because the actual damage from the earthquake was relatively
mild compared to other recent earthquakes (for instance, those in Kobe, Turkey, Greece and
Colombia), public interest faded.

Our goal is to improve public awareness so that proper mitigation strategies are employed
to reduce losses. The UCIST table has increased our ability to fulfill this role. The equipment has
been used extensively for demonstrations to school children and public groups. Guests at the St.
Louis Science Center during Earthquake Engineering Weekend have seen instructional shake
tables in action for three years (see Fig. 5a). It has even been used at the Illinois State Fair to dem-
onstrate earthquake engineering principles to the general public (see Fig. 5b). Several recent out-
reach activities are listed in Table 4. The goal of initiating these outreach activities is to make the
public aware of a hazard before the it actually occurs so that proper mitigation can be used to
reduce losses. This process will be expedited by the cooperation of the 23 universities that make
up the consortium.

Summary and Future Plans

Since the inception of the University Consortium of Instructional Shake Tables (UCIST) in
1998, the goal has been to provide undergraduate students with hands-on experiences in structural
dynamics and earthquake hazard mitigation. In order to pursue this goal, a set of objectives was
identified by the 23 universities that make up the consortium. Members of the consortium have
already developed many projects toward fulfilling these objectives. This comprehensive, system-
atic approach to achieving the goals is being realized through the development of classroom
 Table 4: Recent outreach activities with instructional shake tables.
Earthquake Awareness Weekend at the St. Louis Science Center (19982001, see Fig. 5)
Women-in-Engineering Day (19992000 sponsored by SWE)
April Welcome at Washington University (19992000)
Take-Your-Daughter-to-Work Day, Washington University in St. Louis (1999)
Stanley Clark Elementary School Lego competition in 3rd grade, South Bend, Indiana (1998)
Illinois State Fair (20002001, see Fig. 5)
Brown and Merit Scholar Tours, Washington University in St. Louis (1999, 2000)
Stanley Clark Elementary School Lego competition in 5th grade, South Bend, Indiana (2000)
Andrew Jackson Middle School Lego competition in 7th grade, South Bend, Indiana (2001)
Gifted Resource Council Introduction to Engineering program (to be held in Fall 2001)

experiments and the online resources for educators and students, and the integration of these
experiments in the undergraduate civil engineering curriculum. Further educational opportunities
are encouraged by UCIST, including undergraduate research experiences and outreach activities.

Several additional universities have also obtained the instructional shake table lab station
and become involved in the activities. More than 40 shake table experiments have been pur-
chased, including some in Japan and Italy. We hope to encourage more members in the consor-
tium and expand these efforts further when the activities of UCIST are widely disseminated.
Evaluation of the impact of these activities will be performed over the next several years. We
intend to disseminate information on the impact of these activities in the future. Furthermore, we
plan to conduct outreach activities to inform the public of the dangers of an earthquake, and how
to curb these dangers by proper earthquake hazard mitigation.

This consortium is open to all interested universities. The only requirement to joining is that
the university incorporate some experiments into its curriculum. Those interested in joining
UCIST should contact Prof. Shirley J. Dyke at: sdyke@seas.wustl.edu.

Acknowledgments

The program is funded in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF Grant No. DUE
9950340). Undergraduate research assistants involved in the development of these activities have

(a) (b)

Figure 5. Recent outreach activities:

(a) St. Louis Science Center Earthquake Awareness Weekend, and (b) Illinois State Fair.
been supported in part by the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergrad-
uates Program at Washington University (NSF Grant No. EEC9820506). Additional support pro-
vided by the Mid-America Earthquake Center Education Program (Project ED9) to initiate the
UCIST is acknowledged. Equipment support was provided by Quanser Consulting. All of this
support is gratefully acknowledged.

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