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StrainSense helps Servotest research earthquake damage

Product News Wednesday, April 27, 2011: StrainSense Limited

The Challenge

Servotest is the World leader in servohydraulic test and motion simulation. For a number of years they have been lending their experience to the Seismic research arena to enable research institutes, power companies and construction manufacturers to build safer structures and bridges. The vision was to put a structure on top of a table, to see how it bares up to a simulated earthquake. These systems require huge dynamic force capabilities to be able to simulate earthquakes. In addition the building that houses the system, and its foundations, must be reinforced to cope with the stresses.

The Solution

To this end Servotest developed their state of the art Multi Axis Shake Table system. The Digital Control Systems precisely controls high performance actuators of the three linear axes and roll, pitch and yaw. The systems are designed to precisely reproduce actual seismic conditions to test the ability of the specimen to withstand earthquake inputs.

The StrainSense involvement

When supplying the Seismic testing systems to customers Fuzhou University, Central South University, Lanzhou University and South China University, Servotest turned to their key business partner, StrainSense, to supply the accelerometers. These accelerometers played a crucial part by providing the information on the level of vibration. This data was then used in the feedback loop of the acceleration profile on earthquake test systems, aiding the control of the 1.3Mega W of hydraulic power available.

The Results

This market leading system gives engineers an invaluable insight into one of Mother Nature’s greatest threats. The system at Fuzhou is in final stages of commissioning and has already been used to subject two Models of a suspension bridge to look at the dynamic behaviour and resultant amplitudes of the bridge under earthquake conditions.

Mike Howard, Managing Director of Servotest comments “StrainSense supply’s higher precision sensors than previously available, allowing greater confidence in the testing parameters.”