NEW feature of distributed Real-Time Hybrid Simulation (dRTHS) was added in 2017!

LESS @ WMU is a state-of-the-art facility for simulating earthquakes and the effects on small scale structures.  The major equipment in the LESS includes a uni-axial seismic simulator (commonly called shake table), two 3 kips hydraulic actuators with the supporting hydraulic power supply and advanced real time controller. The shake table has a dimension of 3 ft. x 3 ft. and can subject a specimen with maximum weight of 500 lb to an earthquake time history with peak acceleration up to 4 g. Structural dynamic properties and its response when attacked by an earthquake will be obtained through such shake table test. Instrumentation available in the lab consists of accelerometers and linear variable displacement transducer (LVDT) and a set of wireless sensor network. Through these equipments, various seismic experiments can be performed, including shake table test, effective force test, pseudodynamic test in real time and with substructuring.