The Seismic Resistance Experiment Center was established in 1998 through the High-tech Research Center Project for private universities, led by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). It is one of the largest joint testing facilities in Japan, bringing together the cooperative forces of industry, government and academia.
By aiming to improve earthquake resistance in bridges and other structures, as well as to develop seismic isolation systems, numerous ongoing joint industry-university projects at the center are aiding developments in seismic technology and structural engineering. We actively encourage partner corporations and institutions to make extensive use of the facility in the hopes that we might contribute meaningful research outcomes to society and contribute to the advancement of Japan as a whole.
Ever since the 1995 Kobe Earthquake, we have been keenly aware of the need to conduct seismic experimentation on various structures as well as related basic testing in order to improve the seismic safety of buildings and other structures and ensure that we form a robust social infrastructure. The Seismic Resistance Experiment Center is designed to support AIT academics and research in these areas while contributing to the advancement of seismic technologies and structural engineering in our local community.
The experimental building is 30 meters wide from east to west and 20 meters long from north to south, with a height of about 20 meters. The experimental floor is 18 x 15 meters, with a PC construction 1.2 meters thick and a weight of about 1000 tf. The dynamic load devices currently in operation are two 1000-kN dynamic actuators manufactured by MTS, plus two 250-N dynamic actuators from the same company. These four actuators have the ability to create dynamic excitation forces at the same time. The static load devices at the center include eight 4000-kN jacks plus two 2000-kN and four 1000-kN jacks manufactured by Riken Seiki—the largest at any university in Japan. The experimental building also contains two 200-kN hoist cranes.
There is are permanent shaking tables both inside and outside the lab, which allow us to accommodate the rising demand for excitation experiments in recent years.