CEng 6506 Earthquake Engineering Lecture Notes

Presentation Outline

Introduction

Types of dynamic testing

Real earthquake experience

In-situ test

Cyclic loading test

Shaking table test

Pseudo-dynamic test

Summary

Adil Zekaria (AAiT) 2

Dr. Adil Z. (AAiT) 1

CEng 6506 Earthquake Engineering Lecture Notes

Introduction

Testing and experimentation are important
for seismic evaluation.

Laboratory testing is most applicable to
experimental analysis.

Experimental analysis can be performed on
either un-scaled prototypes or scaled
models of elements.

Developments in computer and electronics
industries have made experimentation a
competitive proposition, especially for the
study of complex behavior.

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Objective

To easily understand the structures’
response to an earthquake.

To observe how stable the structure is
during earthquakes.

Qualification of a structure under
seismic loads, to make sure that it will
be “functional” during or after the
earthquake.

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CEng 6506 Earthquake Engineering Lecture Notes

Objective

The output of the test is to provide
qualitative or quantitative data to assess
the seismic behavior of a structure.

For validation and calibration of analytical
models of the structure on the “whole”
model or part of the structure.

To accelerate the development of seismic
isolation equipments and minimize the
damage caused by an earthquake.

Validation of specific design principles for
special construction, especially when the
standards are lacking .

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Experimental test setup includes:

Test object

Excitation system

Control system

Signal acquisition and modification
system

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CEng 6506 Earthquake Engineering Lecture Notes

Different Categories of Seismic

Tests

Real earthquake experience

In-situ tests

Cyclic loading test

Shaking table test

Pseudo-dynamic test

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Real Earthquake Experience

Feedback from real EQ used to check and
calibrate seismic design and construction
practices.

It is the basis of determination of the
intensity correlating damage to vulnerability
and losses predictions.

Drawbacks are: unpredictiveness of the
occurrence time, type of input signals,
amplitude, lack of control of the situations,
…etc

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CEng 6506 Earthquake Engineering Lecture Notes

In-situ tests

The actual prototype is excited by ambient
vibration or by artificial excitation with
centrifuge or hydraulic exciter, explosion …

It is employed to validate frequencies and
mode shapes of the construction and to
give some information on damping.

Advantage: Real structure in actual
condition is tested.

But it is not possible to apply strong input
energy, if the structure to be used after

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CEng 6506 Earthquake Engineering Lecture Notes

Cyclic loading test

Cyclic test is a type of test in which a product,
material, or object of interest is subjected to
repeated cyclic testing, instead of a single test
cycle.

It involves loading and unloading, to recheck
product performance at various intervals.

The cyclic testing consists of a slow
application of the load with deflection control.
The application of the load under deflection
control allows for the evaluation of structural
performance in the post elastic range.

The cyclic testing, generally performed at
progressively increasing amplitudes, have as
purpose to simulate the alternating character
of the seismic load.
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Cyclic loading test

This test method can show not only the capacity of a
product when new, but also the performance over
time, looking at how issues like wear and corrosion
interact with the product over its lifetime.

The cyclic testing is generally used to evaluate
individual elements performances (beams,
columns) or small assemblies (as beam-to-column
connections).

Cyclic testing is performed with the assistance of a
variety of test equipments.

Reaction walls are commonly used.

Largest reaction wall is in USC at San Diego with an
area of 946 square meters and 15 m height.
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CEng 6506 Earthquake Engineering Lecture Notes

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Experimental setup
Constant axial
load

Reversed cyclic
lateral loading

Test specimen

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CEng 6506 Earthquake Engineering Lecture Notes

Advantages of Cyclic Loading

To show how a structure performs over
time in a variety of environments.

It is also beneficial to know how far they
can be pushed before they will start to
experience problems. This information
may be used to address issues like
maintenance scheduling .

To evaluate individual elements
performances (beams, columns)

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Drawbacks of Cyclic Loading

The cyclic loading requires relatively high
investment.

It is not able to reproduce two of the most
important structural features under seismic
action.
 Strain rate- much lower in the experimental case
than in reality, and which is neglecting the
dynamic effect of the seismic action.
 Deflection history- which in case of a real
earthquake has a random character (aspect)
and does not increase following a progressive
predetermined pattern.
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CEng 6506 Earthquake Engineering Lecture Notes

Example of Cyclic Loading

• Cyclic Load testing of
Partially and Fully
anchored Wood-Frame
Shear Walls
• (Oregon State University)

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Example of Cyclic Loading

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CEng 6506 Earthquake Engineering Lecture Notes

Historical background of ST

First shaking tables appeared in the 30s
with a very limited capacity. Largest tables
appeared in the 60s in USA (UC Berkeley),
Japan, France (in 1968 in Saclay) and Italy.

Largest table is in Japan at National
Institute for Earth Science and Disaster
Prevention (NIED) with a 6 DOF, payload
of 1200 tons and 300 m2 (20m x 15m)
area.

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CEng 6506 Earthquake Engineering Lecture Notes

Shaking Table Tests

The shaking table is an experimental device
built of a platform, moved by actuators,
which are able to induce a movement
similar to that observed during earthquakes,
including reproductions of recorded
earthquake time-histories.

Test specimens are fixed to the platform and
shaken, often to the point of failure.

Using video records and data from
transducers, it is possible to interpret the
dynamic behavior of the specimen.
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Shaking Table Tests

Devices differ by physical dimensions and
the number of degrees of freedom for which
deflections or rotations may be imposed.

The shaking table is able to reproduce most
accurately the loading conditions on
structures during earthquakes.

They are subjected to conditions
representative of true earthquake ground
motions.
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CEng 6506 Earthquake Engineering Lecture Notes

Main parts of Shaking Table

A rigid table - must have a high rigidity and
a large capacity of displacement with limited
distortions.

Actuators -composed of a cylinder with
bearings, a piston, one or several servo-valves
and displacement transducers
 Electro-dynamic shaker
 Hydraulic actuator

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Main parts (continued)

A concrete
“reaction” mass
– supports the
table

Control system -
control of the table
input motion

A computer to
generate the
program signal

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CEng 6506 Earthquake Engineering Lecture Notes

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Types of input motion for ST

Square wave

Sinusoidal wave

Narrow band signal with several distinct
frequency components

White noise, modified by high and low-
pass filtering

Actual earthquake time histories with
various model scaling factors

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CEng 6506 Earthquake Engineering Lecture Notes

Examples

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Examples of Shaking Table

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CEng 6506 Earthquake Engineering Lecture Notes

Examples of Shaking Table

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Drawbacks of Shaking Table

The required cost to built such a device is
particularly high, requiring significant
material resources for the initial
construction and maintenance.

Do not allow for natural scale testing.

The short time required to perform this
testing makes it difficult to make accurate
observation of structural response.

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CEng 6506 Earthquake Engineering Lecture Notes

PSD HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The concept was proposed for the first
time by Hakuno et al (1969) and
Takanashi et al. (1974).

Some developments of the techniques
were implemented in USA at UC at
Berkeley and the algorithms and overall
control significantly improved

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CEng 6506 Earthquake Engineering Lecture Notes

Pseudo-Dynamic Testing

PsD test can be used to assess the seismic
response of structures at natural scale in a
better way.

The PsD is a hybrid technique, coupling test
and computer analysis.

The desire to test large model pushed the
development of PsD together with the
improvement of numerical and computer
techniques.

Describes the dynamic response of a
structure based on a model with a finite
number of dynamic degrees of freedom.
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PsD Laboratory Equipment

The laboratory must be equipped with:
 Displacement transducers
 Force transducers
 Servo-hydraulic actuators
 Reaction walls- The reaction wall serves to
support actuators which apply load on the
structure.
 A strong floor - serves to support the structure
itself.
 Computers

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CEng 6506 Earthquake Engineering Lecture Notes

Steps in PsD Testing

 Numerical model is analyzed under the action
of an accelerogram representing the seismic
motion to which the structure is subjected.
 Displacements are obtained.
 Displacements are applied to the test structure
by servo-controlled hydraulic actuators
connected to the reaction wall.
 The force transducers record the forces
caused by the displacements.
 Information is transmitted to the computer with
the purpose of integrating the equation of
motion in the next step.
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CEng 6506 Earthquake Engineering Lecture Notes

Reaction Wall at ELSA (Italy)

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Advantage of PsD

Can be performed at real scale:

Test can be done slowly:
 highest quality in the measurements
 continuous observation and monitoring
 full control of collapse point
 possible modification of measurement set-
up

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CEng 6506 Earthquake Engineering Lecture Notes

Disadvantage of PsD

Tests are performed at “reduced”
velocity: some visco-elastic materials, with
a low damping depending on velocity, are
not well represented.

Force application at a few nodal points or
DOFs→ inadequate for structure with
highly distributed mass since masses
are assumed to be concentrated.

The vertical excitation is usually not
considered, which may cause some
troubles. Usually limited to horizontal
component of seismic excitation.

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Comparison of ST &PSD Testing

Shaking Table Testing Pseudo-Dynamic Testing
Very expensive Relatively cheaper
Physical dimension of the model is Allows for natural scale testing
limited
Loading rate is taken into Effect of loading rate not directly
consideration considered
Can be applied to structures with Not appropriate for distributed
distributed mass mass structures
Short duration  detailed Long duration  detailed
observation of response is difficult observation of response is possible

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CEng 6506 Earthquake Engineering Lecture Notes

Examples (ELSA Laboratory, Italy)

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Examples (Lehigh Laboratory, USA)

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CEng 6506 Earthquake Engineering Lecture Notes

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CEng 6506 Earthquake Engineering Lecture Notes

Summary

Even though, experimental set up for dynamic
testing is an expensive procedure, it must not be
ignored.

The new method like the internet based pseudo-
dynamic test method gives effective results .

It helps to exchange information between different
laboratories around the world.

By doing these experiments, the structures’ response
to an earthquake can be understood. The results will
show how stable the structure is during earthquakes.

The outcome of the dynamic testing can be used for
development of seismic controls and minimize the
damage caused by an earthquake since a structure
must be able to sustain its main functions of safety
and serviceability, during and after an earthquake
exposure.
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Please read the books

“Advanced Earthquake Analysis” edited by Alain Pecker,
and “Seismic Design, Assessment and Retrofitting of
Concrete Buildings” by Michael N. Fardis
for additional information.

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