EVALUATION OF SHUT-OFF CHARACTERISTICS OF GAS METERS EQUIPPED WITH RIGID BALL TYPE SEISMIC SENSOR IN EARTHQUAKE-INDUCED RESPONSES BY SHAKE-TABLE-TESTING

Abstract

Following earthquakes, it is essential to immediately assess the damage sustained in buildings and make judgments about the safety of their reoccupation. As instrumenting buildings with accelerometers is expensive, damage assessments are primarily done by entering the building and performing visual observations. As an alternative, the emergency gas shut-off feature available in gas meters installed in buildings is considered as a potentially effective indicator for identifying damage in structures. In this study, the commonly used gas meters equipped with `rigid ball type seismic sensor' are subjected to earthquake demands via shake-table testing to evaluate the shut-off characteristics.