The Fast Hybrid Testing laboratory (FHT), located at the University of Colorado in Boulder comprises one node of the George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES). NEES is a national, networked, simulation resource that includes geographically-distributed, shared-use, next-generation experimental research Equipment Sites built and operated to advance earthquake engineering research and education. The FHT laboratory is open for use as a national laboratory for researchers and for contract testing by private companies across the country who are interested in conducting real-time (or pseudo-dynamic) hybrid simulations of structures subjected to earthquakes, wind, and other extreme loadings.
The goal of NEES is to accelerate progress in earthquake engineering research and to improve the seismic design and performance of civil and mechanical infrastructure systems.
The FHT laboratory specializes in real-time hybrid simulations. In this innovative simulation paradigm a substructure is physically tested in the laboratory floor while a complementary one is numerically analyzed by a finite element. Both simulations are tightly coupled and run at increments of 1/1,024 of a second. The FHT laboratory includes extensive computational and archiving facilities, and the laboratory supports interactive remote teleparticipation of experimental research as part of the NEES grid system.
Click here to view a video presentation explaining the Fast Hybrid Testing paradigm.
