ALL SHOOK UP
Model buildings and simulated earthquakes help students understand geologic events and how human activity interferes with natural processes.
Students in Geological Disasters: Agents of Chaos
built structures and put them through an earthquake
simulation last fall. "The | | 
Professor Larry Malinconico (L-R), Sarah Goldman '05, and Sarah Segal '05 are amazed by the simulation in process. |
objective was to have students design a building to minimize damage from earthquakes," says Larry Malinconico,
associate professor and
acting head of geology and
environmental geosciences. "The buildings that suffer the most damage in earthquakes are the most rigid ones. You want a building that is strong but flexible." Malinconico cites the pyramid-shaped Trans American Building in San Francisco as an example of designing flexibility through minimizing mass in the top
of a building.
The students used materials such as balsa wood, paper, string, and glue to build
structures, which had to have
a minimum square-inch
equivalent floor area and be
at least three floors above the ground. The buildings were first tested for simple loading, which ensured that all the structures were able to sustain a certain weight. This gave the students an opportunity to uncover any weaknesses. They had a week to make changes before earthquake simulation tests began.
Students in geological disasters course hold components of their "buildings," which were destroyed by simulated earthquakes. | |
The class accomplished earthquake simulation with a shaker table, the base of which sits in a track with wheels and is pushed back and forth by a motor to change amplitude and frequency. The structures were placed on the table and the magnitude of the simulated earthquakes increased until all structures were destroyed.
"Buildings must be built
well with earthquakes in mind," says Liz Cassidy '05. "There were a lot of measuring
mistakes in the class, including our building. This project taught us to measure twice
and cut once." Her group's structure survived a minimal earthquake. |
"Professor Malinconico keeps the class lively," notes Cassidy, adding that she enjoyed
watching the buildings come down. She took the course to pursue a minor in geology and environmental geosciences, but now intends to major in it.
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