Lead University: Lehigh University
PI: Richard Sause, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
PA Industry: Pfeiger Plastics Company
The proposed research is a partnership between Lehigh University of Bethlehem PA and a Pennsylvania Industry Partner, Pleiger Plastics Company of Washington PA, with university collaborators at University of Arizona (UA) and University of California San Diego (UCSD) and a continuation of an ongoing PITA project. The project will evaluate, characterize and demonstrate the performance of a key component of a seismic response mitigation system for multi-story office and apartment buildings. The seismic response mitigation system, called the Inertial Force Limiting Floor Anchorage System, reduces building response to earthquakes by partially uncoupling the floors from the walls, thereby limiting damage to the structure and its contents, as well as mitigating the possibility of catastrophic failure. The key component proposed for investigation in this project is a rubber bumper element placed between the floors and the walls of a building that acts as a “stop” in the system to eliminate potentially dangerous large floor displacements during rare but extreme earthquake events. If the seismic response reduction system is successfully demonstrated, the impact of this system could have a non-negligible effect on the PA economy.