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Memorials to a tragedy and the departure of a rebuild power broker in this bonus episode of Munted, a series about the aftermath of the Canterbury earthquakes. Sullivan said his goal was to keep the prototype system low-cost, about $15,000 for a three-bedroom house. “We think what we’ve come up with will prevent damage, and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg,” he said. Base isolation systems had traditionally been used in commercial buildings. Sullivan hoped his system would help avoid costly repairs for homeowners and stressful insurance claims after an earthquake. The 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes led to more than 650,000 insurance claims and combined payouts of more $31 billion, according to the Insurance Council of New Zealand.
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A prototype base isolation system for residential houses has been developed by Professor of Structural Engineering Tim Sullivan and his team and is currently being put through its paces on a ‘shake table’ in UC’s Structural Engineering Laboratory.
A room has been specially built for the trial with timber framing and Gib-lined walls on a concrete slab foundation.
The structure is positioned on top of the newly developed, steel base isolation units. Underneath this, a shake table – one of the largest in New Zealand – is being used to recreate ground movements recorded at various locations during the damaging Canterbury earthquakes, as well as other strong historical earthquakes and a simulated Alpine Fault quake.