• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.14 no.6
• /
• pp.1055-1079
• /
• 2014

Substructure shake table testing is a class of real-time hybrid simulation (RTHS). It combines shake table tests of substructures with real-time computational simulation of the remaining part of the structure to assess dynamic response of the entire structure. Unlike in the conventional hybrid simulation, substructure shake table testing imposes acceleration compatibilities at substructure boundaries. However, acceleration tracking of shake tables is extremely challenging, and it is not possible to produce perfect acceleration tracking without time delay. If responses of the experimental substructure have high correlation with ground accelerations, response errors are inevitably induced by the erroneous input acceleration. Feeding the erroneous responses into the RTHS procedure will deteriorate the simulation results. This study presents a set of techniques to enable reliable substructure shake table testing. The developed techniques include compensation techniques for errors induced by imperfect input acceleration of shake tables, model-based actuator delay compensation with state observer, and force correction to eliminate process and measurement noises. These techniques are experimentally investigated through RTHS using a uni-axial shake table and three-story steel frame structure at the Johns Hopkins University. The simulation results showed that substructure shake table testing with the developed compensation techniques provides an accurate and reliable means to simulate the dynamic responses of the entire structure under earthquake excitations.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.15 no.6
• /
• pp.595-603
• /
• 2018

Shake table testing has been regarded as one of the most effective experimental approaches to evaluate seismic response of structural systems subjected to earthquakes. However, reproducing a prescribed acceleration time history precisely over the frequency of interest is challenging because shake table test systems are eventually nonlinear by nature. In addition, interaction between the table and specimen could affect the control accuracy of shake table testing significantly. Various novel control algorithms have been proposed to improve the control accuracy of shake table testing; however, reference values for control performance assessment remain rare. In this study, reference values for control performance assessment of shake table testing are specified based on the statistical analyses of 1,209 experimental data provided by the Seismic Simulator Laboratory of National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering in Taiwan. Three individual reference values are considered for the assessment including the root-mean-square error of the achieved acceleration time history; the percentage of the spectral acceleration that exceeds the determined tolerance range over the frequency of interest; and the error-ratio of the achieved peak ground acceleration. Quartiles of the real experimental data in terms of the three objective variables are obtained, providing users with solid and simple references to evaluate the control performance of shake table testing. Finally, a set of experimental data of a newly developed control framework implementation for uni-axial shake tables are used as an application example to demonstrate the significant improvement of control accuracy according to the reference values provided in this study.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.32 no.6
• /
• pp.359-369
• /
• 2023

Servo-motor driven uniaxial shake tables have been widely used for education and research purposes in earthquake engineering. These shake tables are mostly displacement-controlled by a digital proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller; however, accurate reproduction of acceleration time histories is not guaranteed. In this study, a control strategy is proposed and verified for uniaxial shake tables driven by a servo-motor. This strategy incorporates a deep-learning algorithm named Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network into a displacement PID feedback controller. The LSTM controller is trained by using a large number of experimental data of a self-made servo-motor driven uniaxial shake table. After the training is completed, the LSTM controller is implemented for directly generating the command voltage for the servo motor to drive the shake table. Meanwhile, a displacement PID controller is tuned and implemented close to the LSTM controller to prevent the shake table from permanent drift. The control strategy is named the LSTM-PID control scheme. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed LSTM-PID improves the acceleration tracking performance of the uniaxial shake table for both bare condition and loaded condition with a slender specimen.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.12 no.5
• /
• pp.501-513
• /
• 2017

To investigate the seismic performance of Y-shaped eccentrically braced frames fabricated with high-strength steel (Y-HSS-EBFs), a shake table test of a 1:2 scaled three-story Y-HSS-EBF specimen was performed. The input wave for the shake table test was generated by the ground motions of El Centro, Taft, and Lanzhou waves. The dynamic properties, acceleration, displacement, and strain responses were obtained from the test specimen and compared with previous test results. In addition, a finite element model of the test specimen was established using the SAP2000 software. Results from the numerical analysis were compared with the test specimen results. During the shake table test, the specimen exhibited sufficient overall structural stiffness and safety but suffered some localized damage. The lateral stiffness of the structure degenerated during the high seismic intensity earthquake. The maximum elastic and elastoplastic interstory drift of the test specimen for different peak ground accelerations were 1/872 and 1/71, respectively. During the high seismic intensity earthquake, the links of the test specimen entered the plastic stage to dissipate the earthquake energy, while other structural members remained in the elastic stage. The Y-HSS-EBF is a safe, dual system with reliable seismic performance. The numerical analysis results were in useful agreement with the test results. This finding indicated that the finite element model in SAP2000 provided a very accurate prediction of the Y-HSS-EBF structure's behavior during the seismic loadings.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.10 no.4
• /
• pp.811-828
• /
• 2016

This study aims to present nonlinear time history analysis results of double leaf cavity wall (DLCW) reinforced concrete structure exposed to shake table tests. Simulation of the model was done by a Finite Element (FE) program. Shake table experiment was performed at the National Civil Engineering Laboratory in Lisbon, Portugal. The results of the experiment were compared with numeric DLCW model and numeric model of reinforced concrete structure with unreinforced masonry wall (URM). Both DLCW and URM models have two bays and two stories. Dimensions of the tested structure and finite element models are 1:1.5 scaled according to Cauchy Froude similitude law. The URM model has no experimental results but the purpose is to compare their performance level with the DLCW model. Results of the analysis were compared with experimental response and were evaluated according to ASCE/SEI 41-06 code.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.9 no.5
• /
• pp.1115-1132
• /
• 2015

The study considers earthquake shake table testing of bending-torsion coupled structures under multi-component stationary random earthquake excitations. An experimental procedure to arrive at the optimal excitation cross-power spectral density (psd) functions which maximize/minimize the steady state variance of a chosen response variable is proposed. These optimal functions are shown to be derivable in terms of a set of system frequency response functions which could be measured experimentally without necessitating an idealized mathematical model to be postulated for the structure under study. The relationship between these optimized cross-psd functions to the most favourable/least favourable angle of incidence of seismic waves on the structure is noted. The optimal functions are also shown to be system dependent, mathematically the sharpest, and correspond to neither fully correlated motions nor independent motions. The proposed experimental procedure is demonstrated through shake table studies on two laboratory scale building frame models.

• Land and Housing Review
• /
• v.3 no.1
• /
• pp.79-82
• /
• 2012

While there exists a relatively large body of technical information for the engineered design of wood-frame buildings to resist seismic ground motions, the quantitative assessment of seismic resistance of conventional houses built by prescriptive requirements is less well understood. Forintek Canada Corp., in collaboration with other research and industry partners, has embarked on a research project to address this topic. This paper will report on the seismic shake table tests of a full-scale wood-frame building. The two-story specimen, $6m{\times}6m$ in plan, was built on the seismic shake table at Tongji University in Shanghai, China, according to Part 9 of the 1995 National Building Code of Canada and shaken uni-directionally in each of the two principal directions. Three different seismic table motions were applied at increasing peak ground motion amplitudes up to 0.40 and 0.50 g. The specimen was repaired after the above sets of seismic table motions, and successive runs were conducted for increased door openings. Measurements included specimen accelerations, displacements and anchorage forces. Static stiffness of the specimen was measured at low force levels, and natural frequencies were measured after each seismic loading stage by applying low-level random excitation. The results presented consist of the capacity spectra of the shake table tests, changes in specimen stiffness and natural frequencies with increasing seismic loading. These results and those from other recent shake table tests elsewhere will be compared with simplified engineering calculations based on codified values of strength, and on that basis preliminary conclusions will be drawn on the adequacy of the current code provisions and design guides in Canada and the USA for conventional wood-frame construction.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.55 no.5
• /
• pp.1037-1053
• /
• 2015

This paper presents finite element (FE) based pushover analysis of a reinforced concrete structure with a two-leaf cavity wall (TLCW) to estimate the performance level of this structure. In addition to this, an unreinforced masonry (URM) model was selected for comparison. Simulations and analyses of these structures were performed using the DIANA FE program. The mentioned structures were selected as two storeys and two bays. The dimensions of the structures were scaled 1:1.5 according to the Cauchy Froude similitude law. A shake table experiment was implemented on the reinforced concrete structure with the two-leaf cavity wall (TLCW) at the National Civil Engineering Laboratory (LNEC) in Lisbon, Portugal. The model that simulates URM was not experimentally studied. This structure was modelled in the same manner as the TLCW. The purpose of this virtual model is to compare the respective performances. Two nonlinear analyses were performed and compared with the experimental test results. These analyses were carried out in two phases. The research addresses first the analysis of a structure with only reinforced concrete elements, and secondly the analysis of the same structure with reinforced concrete elements and infill walls. Both researches consider static loading and pushover analysis. The experimental pushover curve was plotted by the envelope of the experimental curve obtained on the basis of the shake table records. Crack patterns, failure modes and performance curves were plotted for both models. Finally, results were evaluated on the basis of the current regulation ASCE/SEI 41-06.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.10 no.5
• /
• pp.1125-1141
• /
• 2016

The direct displacement based design (DDBD) approach is spreading in the field of seismic design for many types of structures. This paper is carried out to present a robust approach for the DDBD procedure for single degree of freedom (SDOF) concentrically braced frames (CBFs). Special attention is paid to the choice of an equivalent viscous damping (EVD) model that represents the behaviour of a series of full scale shake table tests. The performance of the DDBD methodology of the CBFs is verified by two ways. Firstly, by comparing the DDBD results with a series of full-scale shake table tests. Secondly, by comparing the DDBD results with a quantified nonlinear time history analysis (NLTHA). It is found that the DDBD works relatively well and could predict the base shear forces ($F_b$) and the required brace cross sectional sizes of the actual values obtained from shake table tests and NLTHA. In other words, when comparing the ratio of $F_b$ estimated from the DDBD to the measured values in shake table tests, the mean and coefficient of variation ($C_V$) are found to be 1.09 and 0.12, respectively. Moreover, the mean and $C_V$ of the ratios of $F_b$ estimated from the DDBD to the values obtained from NLTHA are found to be 1.03 and 0.12, respectively. Thus, the DDBD methodology presented in this paper has been shown to give accurate and reliable results.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.61 no.2
• /
• pp.267-274
• /
• 2017

In this study was investigated of possibility using the recorded micro tremor data on ground level as ambient vibration input excitation data for investigation and application Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) on the bench-scale earthquake simulator (The Quanser Shake Table) for model steel structures. As known OMA methods (such as EFDD, SSI and so on) are supposed to deal with the ambient responses. For this purpose, analytical and experimental modal analysis of a model steel structure for dynamic characteristics was evaluated. 3D Finite element model of the building was evaluated for the model steel structure based on the design drawing. Ambient excitation was provided by shake table from the recorded micro tremor ambient vibration data on ground level. Enhanced Frequency Domain Decomposition is used for the output only modal identification. From this study, best correlation is found between mode shapes. Natural frequencies and analytical frequencies in average (only) 2.8% are differences.