A two-year project has been funded at Cornell University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) as part of Phase 2 of the George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) of the National Science Foundation. This project will develop advanced simulation and experimental
evaluation of key lifeline components under earthquake conditions. This paper describes the experimental facilities planned at Cornell and RPI. The problems of soil-structure interaction and above-ground structural response that can be addressed through physical simulation with the facility are discussed. Issues associated with rate of ground rupture, angle of intersection between buried lifeline and ground displacement planes, and size of the facility also are treated. The paper explores the use of full- and near-full-scale simulations at Cornell combined with centrifuge experiments at RPI to cover a broad range of sizes, geometries, and time rate effects on the performance of lifelines in the field.