Shake table tests of suspended ceilings to simulate the observed damage in the M_s 7.0 Lushan earthquake, China

Severe damage to suspended ceilings of metal grids and lay-in panels was observed in public buildings during the 2013 M7.0 Lushan earthquake in China. Over the past several years, suspended ceilings have been widely used practice in public buildings throughout China, including government offices, schools and hospitals. To investigate the damage mechanism of suspended ceilings, a series of three-dimensional shake table tests was conducted to reproduce the observed damage. A full-scale reinforced concrete frame was constructed as the testing frame for the ceiling, which was single-story and infilled with brick masonry walls to represent the local construction of low-rise buildings. In general, the ceiling in the tests exhibited similar damage phenomena as the field observations, such as higher vulnerability of perimeter elements and extensive damage to the cross runners. However, it exhibited lower fragility in terms of peak ground/roof accelerations at the initiation of damage. Further investigations are needed to clarify the reasons for this behavior.

Seismic performance of non-structural components and contents in buildings: an overview of NZ research

This paper summarizes the research on non-structural elements and building contents being conducted at University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Since the 2010-2011 series of Canterbury earthquakes, in which damage to non-structural components and contents contributed heavily to downtime and overall financial loss, attention to seismic performance and design of non-structural components and contents in buildings has increased exponentially in NZ. This has resulted in an increased allocation of resources to research leading to development of more resilient non-structural systems in buildings that would incur substantially less damage and cause little downtime during earthquakes. In the last few years, NZ researchers have made important developments in understanding and improving the seismic performance of secondary building elements such as partitions, facades, ceilings and contents.

Study on the Application of Industrial Style Design in Railway Station Buildings along the Zhengzhou-Wanzhou High Speed Railway

With the improvement of economy and living quality,station buildings of high speed railway are no longer just a space to filfill the transport finction.As a business card of cities,station buildings of high speed railway prefer unique interior design,so the industrial style design featuring simplicity and variety gradually becomes a design trend.Taking the interior design of Changgebei Railway Station and Fangcheng Railway Station as an example,the paper analyzes the application of the industrial style design to high speed railway station buildings in three aspects:project overview,interior design and key issues of construction,and then reflects on and sums up the advantages and disadvantages of the design and construction.The two station buildings,among a very small quantity of station buildings nationwide where the industrial style design is adopted,provide experience and lessons while exploring a new direction for fiuture interior design of station buildings of high speed railway.