World’s largest outdoor earthquake simulator undergoes major upgrade

A major upgrade of the world’s largest outdoor earthquake simulator reached a milestone mid-April when the facility’s floor--all 300000 lbs of steel--was put back in place. When completed this fall, the simulator will have the ability to reproduce multi-dimensional earthquake motions with unprecedented accuracy to make structures and their residents safer during a temblor. The simulator, or shake table, will be able to test the heaviest and tallest structures to gauge how well they would withstand various earthquakes. The first test following the upgrade will feature a full-scale, 10-story, cross-laminated timber building.