Shaking table tests of typical B-ultrasound model hospital room in a simulation of the Lushan earthquake

Abstract

Earthquakes have again highlighted the vulnerability of China’s health facilities. The current investigation of the seismic status of hospital facilities was conducted after the Lushan MW6.6 earthquake, and both structural and nonstructural damage are listed. Structural and nonstructural damage of four typical hospitals and clinics are discussed here. Structural damage is here described alongside damage to architectural elements, equipment, and furnishings caused by earthquakes. This investigation indicated that the hospital facilities can lose partial or full functionality due to nonstructural damage or even limited structural damage. Although none of the objects inside were knocked over and only a few decorations fell down, many sets of equipment were severely damaged because of the strong floor vibration. This resulted in great economic losses and delays in rescue operations after the earthquake. Shaking table tests on a full scale model of a B-ultrasound room were conducted to investigate the seismic performance of a typical room in a hospital. The tests results showed that the acceleration responses of the building contents with or without trundles demonstrated different behaviour. Without trundles, the peak acceleration and the peak displacement of building contents first increased with increasing PGA and then decreased when the acceleration exceeded a particular value. Then they both changed a little. Because of the rapid turning trundles, the response of building contents increased only slightly as PGA increased, or even decreased or remained roughly steady.