Volume 1, Number 2, August 2003
This second issue of PANEL UPDATE, the eNewsletter of the Panel on Wind and Seismic
Effect’s, reports on two Panel Task Committees and PWRI’s upgraded 3-D Shake table. ThePanel Task Committees continue in their mission to improve civil engineering design andconstruction practices as with PWRI’s shake table to improve simulating seismic loads onstructures.
PANEL TASK COMMITTEES• TASK COMMITTEE D. WIND. The Task Committee conducted its 3rd Workshop on Designfor Wind and Wind Hazard Mitigation in Seattle during 2-5 October, 2002. Twenty-two
participants attended the workshop; 10 from Japan and 12 from the US and presented 24papers. The T/C’s work is focused on: wind characteristics and wind hazards; wind effects onbuildings; wind effects on bridges; and evolving technologies. Emphasis is on thedevelopment of data and information that serves as a technical basis to revise Japan and US
wind codes. The T/C is planning its 4th Workshop in 2004, and has four active continuing
efforts in the general areas covered by the topics above.
Persons interested in obtaining a copy of the workshop should contact Professor ParthaSarkar, Director of Wind Simulation and Testing Laboratory, Department of Aerospace
Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 500112271; ppsarkar@iastate.edu; 515-294-0719.
• TASK COMMITTEE G. TRANSPORTATION. The 19th US - Japan Bridge Engineering
Workshop is scheduled during 27-29 October 2003, Tsukuba, Japan. The Workshop Themes
are: 1) Advancing Technology in Seismic Engineering and 2) Innovative Technology on
Extending Bridge Service Lives. During the afternoon of 29 October, the 9th FHWA/MLIT
Bridge Engineering Workshop will be conducted. These Workshops will be followed by threedays of technical site visits to discuss recent Japan bridge engineering technologies.
Persons interested in obtaining a copy of the 18th US-Japan Bridge Engineering
Workshop should contact: Professor David H. Sanders, Department of Civil Engineering/258,
University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557; sanders@unr.edu; 775-784-4288.
PWRI UPGRADED 3-D SHAKE TABLE
In June 2003, the Public Works Research Institute (PWRI) completed the upgrade of its 3-D
shake table that has increased the operational stability of the table and the efficiency of thelaboratory. Responding to the increased importance of verifying seismic performance ofstructures by experimental testing following the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu (Kobe) earthquake,
PWRI constructed its new 3-D shake table during February 1996 – March 1997. The table’s
shaking capability remains the world's largest and reproduces strong motion records from pastmajor earthquakes three dimensionally. The maximum and rated payloads are 300 metric tons
and 100 metric tons, respectively. The maximum horizontal acceleration is 2.0 G for the rated
payload, and the maximum horizontal stroke is 60 cm. The upgrade includes:1) Hydraulic Pumps. The previous system had two groups of hydraulic pumps; one wasused for the 2-D and 3-D shaking tables in common. New pumps were installed that are
now dedicated to directing its hydraulic supply system to the 3-D shake table.
2) Overhead Crane. A 980 kN (100 ton) crane replaced one of the two 196 kN (20 ton)overhead cranes.
3) Laboratory Expansion. The laboratory building was partially reconstructed and its
fabrication area was extended by approximately 400 m2.

The first test conducted after the upgrade
was a hybrid vibration experiment, which
integrates numerical response computation
with vibration experiment using a partial
model of structure, and reproduces theseismic behavior of the whole system. The
objective of this test was to study seismic
behavior of a highway bridge on theliquefiable soils – a first of its kind in theworld.
Contact: Dr. Keiichi Tamura, Leader,Ground Vibration Research Team, PWRI
tamura@pwri.go.jp, 011-81-29-879-6770(029-879-6770)

Newly installed hydraulic pumps