Troy, N.Y. — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is partnering with Cornell University to test the effects of earthquakes on underground pipeline systems used for water, electric power, gas and liquid fuel, telecommunications, transportation, and waste. The four-year project is funded by a $2 million National Science Foundation (NSF) Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) research grant. Cornell University is leading the project, with Rensselaer’s portion of the grant totaling $746,822.

Through the use of physical modeling and simulation, the research team will test welded steel pipe and polyethylene pipe to improve the safety and reliability of critical underground infrastructure by improving future design and construction methods, according to Michael O’Rourke, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rensselaer and co-principal investigator on the critical lifelines research team. Additional Rensselaer researchers on the team include civil and environmental engineering faculty members Tarek Abdoun, assistant professor, and Michael Symans, associate professor.

Rensselaer researchers will conduct small-scale earthquake simulation tests in the Institute’s recently renovated 150 g-ton geotechnical centrifuge, spinning models of buried pipe systems to produce forces up to 200 times the Earth’s gravitational pull. The centrifuge mimics the stresses present in actual large-scale constructed systems and is equipped with an in-flight robot designed to conduct operations while the centrifuge is in motion.

Researchers at Cornell University will perform a limited number of near full-scale tests using Cornell’s Large Displacement Soil-Structure Interaction Facility for Lifeline Systems and then compare their results with those obtained from a larger number of small-scale centrifuge tests at Rensselaer. Researchers at Rensselaer also will develop computer-based numerical models and conduct advanced numerical simulations to benchmark results from the near full-scale and small-scale physical tests. The verified numerical models will allow engineers to readily evaluate the adequacy of future designs without conducting laboratory testing.

In addition to the impact of earthquakes on critical underground infrastructures, the results can also be used to better understand the effects of landslides, mining, extraction of subsurface fluids, and underground construction on these systems, according to O’Rourke.

Cornell and Rensselaer are also using a portion of the grant to develop an innovative outreach program with the Sciencenter, located in Ithaca, N.Y., by creating an interactive science museum exhibit to introduce K-12 students to earthquake engineering.

Rensselaer is one of 15 universities in the U.S. that comprise NSF-NEES, a consortium of research centers connected via a high-performance Internet network designed to shift the emphasis of earthquake engineering research and education from traditional physical testing to integrated experimentation and model-based simulation.

Contact: Tiffany Lohwater
Phone: (518) 276-6542
E-mail: lohwat@rpi.edu