This facility, which is essential for research in the project’s main topic area, is a shaking table capable of generating oscillations simultaneously on three directional axes (2 horizontal, 1 vertical). The driving power is supplied by a permanent magnet, making it possible to obtain oscillation forms with high accuracy over a wide range of frequencies, and to faithfully reproduce actual quake waves.

（1）A seismic Design and Reinforcement of Floating-Roof Type Liquid Storage Tanks under Long Period Seismic Ground Motion

During the 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquake many floating-roof type oil-storage tanks were seriously damaged due to liquid sloshing. Similar damages are supposed to occur also in the strong earthquakes such as Nankai Trough earthquakes which are expected in near future, and the countermeasure against it is becoming a pressing matter. The present study aims to clarify the mechanism of the failure of the floating roof caused by liquid sloshing and to propose the effective method for a seismic design and reinforcement of the floating-roof type liquid storage tanks under long period seismic ground motion. Seismic response analysis of coupled liquid-floating-roof system is carried out taking account of the nonlinearities of the liquid and the floating roof. Shaking table tests are also performed to validate the theoretical prediction.

（2）Study into improved procedures for seismic performance evaluation and design in large-space reinforced concrete structures

There have been many experimental and analytical investigations into damage, resistance and destruction modes in “rising” concrete structures such as arches and shells, but most have been confined to problems of static loads. In recent years, many more large-space structures of this sort are coming to be built, but the number of experimental studies into their dynamic characteristics is still so small that the task of accounting for the influences of the vertical ground motion on their resonse has hardly got under way. In the present study, a series of shaking table tests are carried out and analyzed to clarify the dynamic behavior of this type of structure up to ultimate strength and to provide data for the validation of numerical analyses.