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Last February, EMMEDUE®, through its Ecuadorian partner Panecons,   provided for additional tests on the vibrating table.  The testing took place at the Laboratory of the Department of Structural Engineering at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru in Lima.

The full scale, 2 storey structure was tested on the vibrating table and underwent the same seismic stresses experienced during the earthquake in Chimbote, Peru on May 31, 1970.

That earthquake was recorded with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale and an intensity of X, XI on the Mercalli scale.

Like the structure tested at Enea, here the test accelerogram was characterized by different peaks of acceleration. To obtain a complete range of tests, the tests were subdivided into 4 phases, from a small scale earthquake (0.1g) up to an earthquake of catastrophic proportions (0.5g).

In the most severe test, where the structure underwent stress from maximum acceleration (a catastrophic earthquake, phase 4), the testing instruments measured the structure’s resistance to acceleration to be more than 4 times greater than that required by local building codes.

This means that, in reality, the tested structure on the vibrating table in Peru, would not have only survived the earthquake of Chimbote, but would have even had sufficient resistance to be able to withstand a seismic event a good 4 times greater than that required by local building codes.

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