Instrumentation for shake table tests | Hutchinson & Schafer Episode 3

Note: This podcast interview was recorded before the CFS10 shake table tests, which took place in June and July of 2025.

In this episode, earthquake engineers Tara Hutchinson, of UC San Diego, and Ben Schafer, of Johns Hopkins University, explain how they collect data from the CFS10 shake table tests. 750 sensors monitor the 10-story steel-framed structure as it is subjected to simulated earthquakes; sensors range from accelerometers to drones filming video. Partners in CFS10 instrumentation include the California Strong Motion Instrumentation program and CalTech, who installed valuable sensor systems on the structure.

Hutchinson and Schafer discuss data from non-structural components, vital for understanding building re-occupation, and they cover important nuances – such as data from prior component testing, including hybrid simulations – which are necessary precursors to large-scale shake table testing – which validate earlier findings.

Expect to hear initial findings from CFS10 testing in September 2025, when Hutchinson and Schafer will be presenting papers. Data from the CFS10 tests will be publicly available on the NHERI DesignSafe Data Depot within a year.

Although it can take years for engineering research to be adopted into official building codes, Hutchinson and Schafer explain that engineers in the earthquake-prone state of California are quicker to adopt peer reviewed findings.


LEARN MORE:

Tara Hutchinson’s CFS shake table videos    / @tchutchinson  

Article: “Cold-formed steel for seismic resilience? It’s on the table” https://designsafe-ci.org/community/n...

Official CFS-NHERI: 10-Story Building Capstone Test Program https://cfs10.ucsd.edu/

California Strong Motion Instrumentation Program https://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/s...

Caltech Community Seismic Network (CSN) http://csn.caltech.edu/sensor/

DesignSafe Radio interview with Ben Schafer, May 2025    • Ben Schafer Full Interview  

Learn more about the UC San Diego shake table facility https://ucsd.designsafe-ci.org/

Learn more about cold-formed steel:

Clarkdietrich Steel
https://www.clarkdietrich.com/

Cold-Formed Steel Research Consortium https://cfsrc.org/

Cold-formed Steel Engineers Institute https://www.cfsei.org

Build Steel, the steel-framing industry association https://buildsteel.org