Project development

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Final project presentations

The idea is to build a shake table to simulate ground motion during an earthquake for the School of Architecture at Madrid based CEU San Pablo University, so that architectural students could explore how to minimize damage and improve their architectural designs.
The project also includes the design and construction of some structural models so that using this earthquake shake table, it will be possible to visualize data about the behavior of a structure thanks to the use of some sensors (accelerators). Once the model is located on a shake table, weights could be attached to each floor and the roof. Sensors are attached to the shake table and to the top of the building. The results of shake table testing (acceleration versus time of the shake table and the top of the building as the shake table is moved back and forth) can be monitored on the computer screen.

Due to the complexity of the project it will be developed by two students: Covadonga Lorenzo and Epifanio L. Cueva. The work will be divided at is shown below:

1.-Computer aided design

Epifanio L. Cueva: to design the function generator box.
Covadonga Lorenzo: to design the shake table and some structural models.

2.-Physical design and fabrication

Epifanio L. Cueva: computer controlled machining for the function generator enclosure (CNC).
Covadonga Lorenzo: computer controlled machining for the shake table (CNC) and computer controlled cutting (laser cutters) for models.

3.Electronics design and production

Epifanio L. Cueva: design and production of the function generator board and the buttons board.
Covadonga Lorenzo: design and production of the Fabduino, two boards for the accelerators and one board for the LED array

4.Input and Output devices

Epifanio L. Cueva: to design and make at least one input (control buttons of the function generator) and one output (LCD screen).
Covadonga Lorenzo: to design and make at least one input (two accelerators) and one output (led array)

5.Embedded programming

Epifanio L. Cueva: program the function generator.
Covadonga Lorenzo: to program the sensors attached to the structural models (two accelerators) and the Fabduino

1.-Computer aided sesign. Design of the function generator enclosure.

Autocad was used to draw all the pieces and to model a 3D drawing that help me to test the dimension and location of all of them.

2.-Physical design and fabrication. Making the shake table.

We have been thinking in thee different possibilities for the shake table that will be constructed with a rectangular platform made of wood.
The first one is the shaker board, using marbles under a lid; the second one is the shake table, using a base made of wood, a shake platform and a motor as a mechanism to simulate earthquake movements and the third one (explained below) that is the one we are going to develop.

After analyzing references and examples of different earthquake tables we decided to design and create our own model of a shake table using:

a. the function generator. a piece of electronic test equipment used to generate different types of electrical waveforms over a wide range of frequencies. Some of the most common waveforms produced by the function generator are the sine, square, triangular and sawtooth shapes. Function generators are used in the final project to introduce a signal into the shake table.

b. the shake platform with two mechanical wave drivers that will be fabricated by Covadonga Lorenzo.