Earthquake Disaster Engineering Research Laboratory
StaﬀLaboratory URL
Key words

Professor
Taiki SAITO（E-mail：tsaito@ace.tut.ac.jp）
Assistant Professor Kazuhiro HAYASHI （E-mail：hayashi@ace.tut.ac.jp ）http://www.rc.ace.tut.ac.jp/saito/index.html
Long-period ground motion, high-rise buildings, response control techniques,
earthquake response analysis, shaking table test, piles, health monitoring

Working toward the earthquake disaster mitigation of buildings and urban structures, and the promotion ofinternational cooperation.
Faced with frequent earthquakes, everyone must have wondered at some point about whether the town andbuildings in which they live are truly safe in regard to earthquakes and tsunami. In order to alleviate theseconcerns and reduce the impact of such disasters, there is a requirement for specialists such as ourselves
to transmit accurate information out into society. Furthermore, enhancing the seismic safety of structures is
extremely important work that demonstrably contributes to the saving of lives. This is true regardless of nationor race. The Earthquake Disaster Engineering Research Laboratory conducts research and development
into the earthquake disaster mitigation of buildings and urban structures, and then relays these results out
into society. We also promote international cooperation, aiming to conduct research that will aid in disastermitigation both in Japan and around the world.
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Seismic safety of high-rise buildings against long-period ground motions
Theme 1The Nankai Trough Earthquake is highly likely to occur by the middleof the 21st century, and threatens to cause extensive damage to thosevital structures that perform core city functions. In particular, the high-risebuildings with long natural period have a quality to resonate with longperiod ground motions. Therefore, the repeated shaking carries the risk ofincreased structural damage, movement & falling of interior furnishings,
The threat of long-period ground motion
people becoming trapped in elevators, and ceiling panels falling. We
shaking high-rise buildings
are therefore conducting comprehensive investigations into the seismic
safety of high-rise buildings against long-period ground motions.
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Experiments and analysis concerning earthquake and tsunami safety of buildings
Theme 2
There is a requirement to enhance the seismic safety of cities andbuildings in response to the threat of massive earthquakes or tsunami
with an epicenter in the Nankai Trough. We are therefore conducting
the experimental practice of structural engineering and the monitoringof strong earthquake observations of foundations and structures toclarify the actual phenomenon that occur. Moreover, we are using
precise earthquake response analysis methods for the research
to quantify the response and damage characteristics of buildings
to large earthquakes and tsunami from the perspectives of safety,
retention of function, and reparability.
Development of earthquake response▲

Theme 3Development of post-earthquake health monitoring
techniques for cast-in-place reinforced concrete piles
Any structure that experiences a major earthquake may still, at
a glance, appear to be solid and sound, but could actually have
suﬀered severe damage in locations that cannot be visually conﬁrmed.
In particular, the cast-in-place reinforced concrete piles used in theconstruction of large buildings have suﬀered severe damage in manycases, including crushing of the underground concrete, but current
technology does not provide a way to evaluate their damage without
excavating the surrounding ground and performing a direct visualinspection. We therefore focused our attention on the changes in thevibration characteristics of a building that accompany damage to its
piles, and aim to exploit this to develop safety evaluation techniquesthat do not require any soil-foundation excavation.

analysis software

A pile and foundations fracture experimentusing a big shaking table