Seismic Engineering of Earthen Buildings Serving California and the World Since 1984
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Getty Seismic Adobe Project
Getty Seismic Adobe Project
Getty Seismic Adobe Project (GSAP), 1991-2006
GSAP was directed by the Getty Conservation Institute as a multi-year, multidisciplinary investigation of seismic retrofit strategies for historic adobe program. The first phase included development of a theoretical framework for understanding the seismic performance of adobe buildings; research on currently used retrofit technologies; a survey of existing historic adobe buildings in the Southwestern United States; development of a testing program plan that included materials, analytical computer modeling, and shake table tests; and, the first draft of conservation principles that would act as planning guidelines for retrofitting historic adobe buildings. The second phase was the beginning of the testing program. It included tests on 1:5 scale adobe walls and simple four-wall buildings. The walls of the buildings had different height to thickness ratios and had been retrofitted using different techniques. The third and final phase included completion of the testing program and the final draft of the Planning Guidelines. The Engineering Guidelines were finalized after the large-scale testing program at IZIIS (see below) was completed. The 1994 Northridge earthquake also occurred during the project, which allowed for investigation of actual damage to adobe structures. This additional investigation led to another publication the details of which can be found here.