Shaking table tests and dynamic analyses of masonry wall buildings with frame-shear walls at lower stories

This paper describes shaking table tests of three eight-story building models： all are masonry structures in the upper stories, with or without frame-shear walls of one- or two- stories at the bottom. The test results of damage characteristics and seismic responses are provided and compared. Then, nonlinear response analyses are conducted to examine the reliability of the dynamic analysis. Finally, many nonlinear response analyses are performed and it is concluded that for relatively hard sites under a certain lateral stiffness ratio （i.e., the ratio of the stiffness of the lowest upper masonry story to that of the frame- shear wall story）, the masonry structure with one-story frame-shear wall at the bottom performs better than a structure built entirely of masonry, and a masonry structure with frame-shear wall of two stories performs better than with one-story frame- shear wall. In relatively soft soil conditions, all three structures have similar performane. In addition, some suggestions that could be helpful for design of masonry structures with ground story of frame-shear wall structure in seismic intensity region VII, such as the appropriate lateral stiffness ratio, shear force increase factor of the frame-shear wall story, and permissible maximum height of the building, are proposed.

Shaking Table Tests of Four-Bucket Jacket Foundation for Offshore Wind Turbines

As the offshore wind turbine foundation,the four-bucket jacket foundation has a large stiffness and the structure is difficult to be damaged under seismic load.Nevertheless,the saturated subsoil of the four-bucket jacket foundation tends to be liquefied under earthquake,which greatly affects the safety of offshore wind turbine.Therefore,the seismic performance of four-bucket jacket foundation is mainly reflected in the anti-liquefaction capacity of foundation soil.In this paper,the liquefaction resistance of sandy soil of four-bucket jacket foundation for offshore wind turbine is studied.The liquefaction and dynamic response of sandy soil foundation of four-bucket jacket foundation under seismic load are obtained by carrying out the shaking table test,and the influence mechanism of four-bucket jacket foundation on the liquefaction resistance of sandy soil foundation is analyzed.

Shaking Table Tests and Seismic Response of Three-Bucket Jacket Foundations for Offshore Wind Turbines

The seismic response characteristics of three-bucket jacket foundations for offshore wind turbines(OWTs)and the liquefaction of the surrounding soil are particularly important for the development and application of this type of structure for offshore use.Using the shaking table test and three-dimensional finite element analysis,different magnitudes of simulated earthquake waves were used as inputs to the shaking table to model seismic excitations.The resulting changes in the excess pore water pressure and acceleration response of the soil under horizontal earthquake are compared in this paper.Calculations of the anti-liquefaction shear stress and equivalent shearing stress during the earthquake,determination of the areas prone to liquefaction,and identification of the effect of the three-bucket jacket foundation on the soil liquefaction resistance were conducted by developing a soil-structure finite element model.The development law of the soil’s amplification effect on seismic acceleration and the seismic response of the foundation soil under various magnitude earthquake waves were also discussed.Results indicate that liquefying the soil inside the bucket of the foundation is more difficult than that outside the bucket during the excitation of seismic waves due to the large upper load and the restraint of the surrounding hoop.This finding confirms the advantages of the three-bucket jacket foundations in improving the liquefaction resistance of the soil inside the bucket.However,the confinement has a barely noticeable impact on the nearby soil outside the skirt.The phenomenon of soil liquefaction at the bottom of the skirt occurred earlier than that in other positions during the seismic excitation,and the excess pore water pressure slowly dissipated.The acceleration amplification coefficient of the sand outside the bucket increases with depth,but that of the sand inside the bucket is substantially inhibited in the height range of the bucket foundation.This result proves the inhibition effects of the three-bucket jacket foundations on the seismic responses of soils.The liquefied soil layer has a significant effect in absorbing a certain amount of seismic wave energy and reducing the amplification effect.The numerical simulation results are consistent with the phenomenon and data measured during the shaking table test.The current study also verifies the feasibility of the excess pore water pressure ratio and the anti-liquefaction shear stress method for judging soil liquefaction.

Property estimation of free-field sand in 1-g shaking table tests

Experimental data taken from free-field soil in 1-g shaking table tests are valuable for seismic studies on soil-structure interaction.But the available data from medium-to large-scale shaking table tests were not abundant enough to cover a large variety of types and conditions of the soil.In the study,1-g shaking table tests of a 3-m-height sand column were conducted to provide seismic experimental data about sand.The sand was directly collected in-situ,with the largest grain diameter being 2 cm and containing a water content of 6.3%.Properties of the sand were estimated under the influence of white noise plus pulse and earthquake motions,including the settlement,the dynamic properties of the sand column,and the three soil layers′shear modulus degradation relationships.The estimated properties were then indirectly verified by means of finite element analysis.Results show that the estimated parameters were effective and could be used in numerical modeling to reproduce approximate seismic responses of the sand column.

An isolated similarity design method for shaking table tests on reinforced slopes

Physical model test is an effective way to unveil the dynamic response of a slope under seismic condition.The similarity design is the key of physical model test.An isolated similarity design method for shaking table tests was proposed and verified in this work.In this method,the relevant physical quantities were divided into several subsystems and subcharacteristic equations for each subsystem were then established based on the Buckingham similarity theory.Large-scale shaking table tests on a reinforced slope were adopted herein to illustrate the application of the proposed isolated similarity design method.The similarity system for the studied slope was divided into four parts in the process of similarity design.The geometrical dimension L,densityρand gravity g were selected as fundamental quantities for the similarity design,and four subcharacteristic equations were established for each subsystem.The dynamic responses of the recorded acceleration and axis force show that the seismic waves propagate well in the model slope.The proposed isolated similarity design method solves the conflict between the similarity requirement for all relevant physical quantities and the difficulty of test model fabrication to satisfy all similarity relations.

Dynamic Behavior of Gravity Retaining Walls with Coral Sand Backfill Under Earthquakes:Shaking Table Tests

The retaining walls in coral sand sites are inevitably threatened by earthquakes. A series of shaking table tests were carried out to study the seismic stability of gravity retaining walls with coral sand backfill. Parallel tests with quartz sand were performed to compare and discuss the special dynamic properties of coral sand sites. The results show that the acceleration difference between the retaining wall and the coral sand backfill is 76%-92% that of the quartz sand,which corresponds to the larger liquefaction resistance of coral sand compared with the quartz sand. However, the horizontal displacement of the retaining walls with coral sand backfill reaches 79% of its own width under 0.4g vibration intensity. The risk of instability and damage of the retaining walls with coral sand backfill under strong earthquakes needs attention.

Seismic performance evaluation of water supply pipes installed in a full-scale RC frame structure based on a shaking table test

As an important part of nonstructural components,the seismic response of indoor water supply pipes deserves much attention.This paper presents shaking table test research on water supply pipes installed in a full-scale reinforced concrete(RC)frame structure.Different material pipes and different methods for penetrating the reinforced concrete floors are combined to evaluate the difference in seismic performance.Floor response spectra and pipe acceleration amplification factors based on test data are discussed and compared with code provisions.A seismic fragility study of displacement demand is conducted based on numerical simulation.The acceleration response and displacement response of different combinations are compared.The results show that the combination of different pipe materials and different passing-through methods can cause obvious differences in the seismic response of indoor riser pipes.

Shaking table tests on the liquefaction-induced uplift displacement of circular tunnel structure

Underground structures are susceptible to float and move upward during earthquakes when located in a liquefiable soil deposit.There are examples of this phenomenon in past major earthquake events.In this study,the uplift of circular tunnels in a liquefiable sand layer was investigated with a series of shaking table tests.The research has focused on the buried depth of the tunnel,tunnel diameter,tunnel weight,liquefaction extent,uplift mechanism,and factor of safety against liquefaction-induced uplift.According to the test results,the shallow buried depth,larger diameter,and lower weight can intensify the tunnel uplift,so the displacement in post-liquefaction time continues at the same rate as during the shaking time.Due to the shear-induced dilation,pore water pressure generation around the tunnel was reduced compared with that of the free field.The excess pore water pressure dissipation in the soil overlying the uplifted tun-nel was significant,which leads to suction in the soil deposit.Furthermore,the acceleration response of overlying soil with the uplifted tunnel was similar to that of the free field.However,the soil acceleration response around the tunnel without uplift was similar to the base motion.

Shaking table test and cumulative deformation evaluation analysis of a tunnel across the hauling sliding surface

To explore the cumulative deformation effect of the dynamic response of a tunnel crossing the hauling sliding surface under earthquakes,the shaking table test was conducted in this study.Combined with the numerical calculations,this study proposed magnification of the Arias intensity(MIa)to characterize the overall local deformation damage of the tunnel lining in terms of the deformation characteristics,frequency domain,and energy.Using the time‐domain analysis method,the plastic effect coefficient(PEC)was proposed to characterize the degree of plastic deformation,and the applicability of the seismic cumulative failure effect(SCFE)was discussed.The results show that the low‐frequency component(f1 and f2≤10 Hz)and the high‐frequency component(f3 and f4>10 Hz)acceleration mainly cause global and local deformation of the tunnel lining.The local deformation caused by the high‐frequency wave has an important effect on the seismic damage of the lining.The physical meaning of PEC is more clearly defined than that of the residual strain,and the SCFE of the tunnel lining can also be defined.The SCFE of the tunnel lining includes the elastic deformation effect stage(<0.15g),the elastic–plastic deformation effect stage(0.15g–0.30g),and the plastic deformation effect stage(0.30g–0.40g).This study can provide valuable theoretical and technical support for the construction of traffic tunnels in high‐intensity earthquake areas.

Shaking table tests on a cantilever retaining wall with reinforced and unreinforced backfill

Physical modelling of cantilever retaining walls with and without backfill reinforcement was conducted on a 1g shaking table to evaluate the mitigation effect of reinforcement on system dynamics(g denotes the acceleration of gravity).The model wall has a height of 1.5 m with a scale ratio of 1/4 and retains dry sand throughout.The input motions are amplified to three levels of input peak base acceleration,0.11g,0.24g,and 0.39g,corresponding to minor,moderate,and major earthquakes,respectively.Investigation of the seismic response of the retaining walls focuses on acceleration and lateral displacement of the wall and backfill,dynamic earth pressures,and tensile load in the reinforcements(modeled by phosphor-bronze strips welded into a mesh).The inclusion of reinforcement has been observed to improve the integrity of the wall-soil system,mitigate vibration-related damage,and reduce the fundamental frequency of a reinforced system.Propagation of acceleration from the base to the upper portion is accompanied by time delay and nonlinear amplification.A reinforced system with a lower acceleration amplification factor than the unreinforced one indicates that reinforcement can reduce the amplification effect of input motion.Under minor and moderate earthquake loadings,reinforcement allows the inertia force and seismic earth pressure to be asynchronous and decreases the seismic earth pressure when inertia forces peak.During major earthquake loading,the wall is displaced horizontally less than the backfill,with soil pushing the wall substantially;the effect of backfill reinforcement has not been fully mobilized.The dynamic earth pressure is large at the top and diminishes toward the bottom.

A novel control strategy for reproducing the floor motions of high-rise buildings by earthquake-simulating shake tables

To enable the experimental assessment of the seismic performance of full-scale nonstructural elements with multiple engineering parameters(EDPs),a three-layer testbed named Nonstructural Element Simulator on Shake Table(NEST)has been developed.The testbed consists of three consecutive floors of steel structure.The bottom two floors provide a space to accommodate a full-scale room.To fully explore the flexibility of NEST,we propose a novel control strategy to generate the required shake table input time histories for the testbed to track the target floor motions of the buildings of interest with high accuracy.The control strategy contains two parts:an inverse dynamic compensation via simulation of feedback control systems(IDCS)algorithm and an offline iteration procedure based on a refined nonlinear numerical model of the testbed.The key aspects of the control strategy were introduced in this paper.Experimental tests were conducted to simulate the seismic responses of a full-scale office room on the 21^(st)floor of a 42-story high-rise building.The test results show that the proposed control strategy can reproduce the target floor motions of the building of interest with less than 20%errors within the specified frequency range.

Investigation of the seismic behavior of grouted sandy gravel foundations using shaking table tests

Sandy gravel foundations exhibit non-linear dynamic behavior when subjected to strong ground motions,which can have amplification effects on superstructures and can reveal insufficient lateral resistance of foundations.Grouting methods can be used to improve the seismic performance of natural sandy gravel foundations.The strength and stiffness of grouted sandy gravel foundations are different from those of natural foundations,which have unknown earthquake resistance.Few studies have investigated the seismic behavior of sandy gravel foundations before and after grouting.In this study,two shaking table tests were performed to evaluate the effect of grouting reinforcement on seismic performance.The natural frequency,acceleration amplification effect,lateral displacement,and vertical settlement of the non-grouted and grouted sandy gravel foundations were measured and compared.Additionally,the dynamic stress-strain relationships of the two foundations were obtained by a linear inversion method to evaluate the seismic energy dissipation.The test results indicated that the acceleration amplification,lateral displacement amplitude,and vertical settlement of the grouted sandy gravel foundation were lower than that of the non-grouted foundation under low-intensity earthquakes.However,a contrasting result was observed under high-intensity earthquakes.This demonstrated that different grouting reinforcement strategies are required for different sandy gravel foundations.In addition,the dynamic stress-strain relationship of the two foundations exhibited two different energy dissipation mechanisms.The results provide insights relating to the development of foundations for relevant engineering sites and to the dynamic behavior of grouted foundations prior to investigating soil-structure interaction problems.

Seismic response of underground utility tunnels: shaking table testing and FEM analysis

Underground utility tunnels are widely used in urban areas throughout the world for lifeline networks due to their easy maintenance and environmental protection capabilities. However, knowledge about their seismic performance is still quite limited and seismic design procedures are not included in current design codes. This paper describes a series of shaking table tests the authors performed on a scaled utility tunnel model to explore its performance under earthquake excitation. Details of the experimental setup are first presented focusing on aspects such as the design of the soil container, scaled structural model, sensor array arrangement and test procedure. The main observations from the test program, including structural response, soil response, soil-structure interaction and earth pressure, are summarized and discussed. Further, a finite element model （FEM） of the test utility tunnel is established where the nonlinear soil properties are modeled by the Drucker- Prager constitutive model; the master-slave surface mechanism is employed to simulate the soil-structure dynamic interaction; and the confining effect of the laminar shear box to soil is considered by proper boundary modeling. The results from the numerical model are compared with experiment measurements in terms of displacement, acceleration and amplification factor of the structural model and the soil. The comparison shows that the numerical results match the experimental measurements quite well. The validated numerical model can be adopted for further analysis.

Shake table tests of suspended ceilings to simulate the observed damage in the M_s 7.0 Lushan earthquake, China

Severe damage to suspended ceilings of metal grids and lay-in panels was observed in public buildings during the 2013 M7.0 Lushan earthquake in China. Over the past several years, suspended ceilings have been widely used practice in public buildings throughout China, including government offices, schools and hospitals. To investigate the damage mechanism of suspended ceilings, a series of three-dimensional shake table tests was conducted to reproduce the observed damage. A full-scale reinforced concrete frame was constructed as the testing frame for the ceiling, which was single-story and infilled with brick masonry walls to represent the local construction of low-rise buildings. In general, the ceiling in the tests exhibited similar damage phenomena as the field observations, such as higher vulnerability of perimeter elements and extensive damage to the cross runners. However, it exhibited lower fragility in terms of peak ground/roof accelerations at the initiation of damage. Further investigations are needed to clarify the reasons for this behavior.

Shaking table test and numerical analysis of offshore wind turbine tower systems controlled by TLCD

A wind turbine system equipped with a tuned liquid column damper （TLCD） is comprehensively studied via shaking table tests using a 1/13-scaled model. The effects of wind and wave actions are considered by inputting response- equivalent accelerations on the shaking table. The test results show that the control effect of the TLCD system is significant in reducing the responses under both wind-wave equivalent loads and ground motions, but obviously varies for different inputs, Further, a blade-hub-tower integrated numerical model for the wind turbine system is established. The model is capable of considering the rotational effect of blades by combining Kane＇s equation with the finite element method. The responses of the wind tower equipped with TLCD devices are numerically obtained and compared to the test results, showing that under both controlled and uncontrolled conditions with and without blades＇ rotation, the corresponding responses exhibit good agreement. This demonstrates that the proposed numerical model performs well in capturing the wind-wave coupled response of the offshore wind turbine systems under control. Both numerical and experimental results show that the TLCD system can significantly reduce the structural response and thus improve the safety and serviceability of the offshore wind turbine tower systems. Additional issues that require further study are discussed.

Shaking table experimental study of recycled concrete frame-shear wall structures

In this study, four 1/5 scaled shaking table tests were conducted to investigate the seismic performance of recycled concrete frame-shear wall structures with different recycled aggregates replacement rates and concealed bracing detail. The four tested structures included one normal concrete model, one recycled coarse aggregate concrete model, and two recycled coarse and fi ne aggregate concrete models with or without concealed bracings inside the shear walls. The dynamic characteristics, dynamic response and failure mode of each model were compared and analyzed. Finite element models were also developed and nonlinear time-history response analysis was conducted. The test and analysis results show that the seismic performance of the recycled coarse aggregate concrete frame-shear wall structure is slightly worse than the normal concrete structure. The seismic resistance capacity of the recycled concrete frame-shear wall structure can be greatly improved by setting up concealed bracings inside the walls. With appropriate design, the recycled coarse aggregate concrete frame-shear wall structure and recycled concrete structure with concealed bracings inside the walls can be applied in buildings.

Shaking table test and numerical analysis of a 1:12 scale model of a special concentrically braced steel frame with pinned connections

This paper describes shaking table tests of a 1：12 scale model of a special concentrically braced steel frame with pinned connections, which was fabricated according to a one-bay braced frame selected from a typical main factory building of a large thermal power plant. In order to investigate the seismic performance of this type of structure, several ground motion accelerations with different levels for seismic intensity Ⅷ, based on the Chinese Code for Seismic Design of Buildings, were selected to excite the model. The results show that the design methods of the members and the connections are adequate and that the structural system will perform well in regions of high seismicity. In addition to the tests, numerical simulations were also conducted and the results showed good agreement with the test results. Thus, the numerical model is shown to be accurate and the beam element can be used to model this structural system.

Shaking table test for reinforcement of soil slope with multiple sliding surfaces by reinforced double-row anti-slide piles

Despite the continuous advancements of engineering construction in high-intensity areas,many engineering landslides are still manufactured with huge thrust force,and double-row piles are effective to control such large landslides.In this study,large shaking table test were performed to test and obtain multi-attribute seismic data such as feature image,acceleration,and dynamic soil pressure.Through the feature image processing analysis,the deformation characteristics for the slope reinforced by double-row piles were revealed.By analyzing the acceleration and the dynamic soil pressure time domain,the spatial dynamic response characteristics were revealed.Using Fast Fourier Transform and half-power bandwidth,the damping ratio of acceleration and dynamic soil pressure was obtained.Following that,the Seism Signal was used to calculate the spectral displacement of the accelerations to obtain the regional differences of spectral displacement.The results showed that the overall deformation mechanism of the slope originates from tension failure in the soil mass.The platform at the back of the slope was caused by seismic subsidence,and the peak acceleration ratio was positively correlated with the relative pile heights.The dynamic soil pressure of the front row piles showed an inverted"K"-shaped distribution,but that of the back row piles showed an"S"-shaped distribution.The predominant frequency of acceleration was 2.16 Hz,and the main frequency band was 0.7-6.87 Hz;for dynamic soil pressure,the two parameters became 1.15 Hz and 0.5-6.59 Hz,respectively.In conclusion,dynamic soil pressure was more sensitive to dampening effects than acceleration.Besides,compared to acceleration,dynamic soil pressure exhibited larger loss factors and lower resonance peaks.Finally,back row pile heads were highly sensitive to spectral displacement compared to front row pile heads.These findings may be of reference value for future seismic designs of double-row piles.

Shaking table comparative test and associated study of a stepped wall-frame structure

A new structural system called a stepped wall-frame structure is proposed in this study to solve the bottom yielding problem of RC frames, which widely occurred during previous earthquakes such as thc Wcnchuan and Yushu earthquakes in China. A 1/5 scale ordinary RC frame model and a stepped wall-frame model were subjected to shake table motions together to study the seismic behavior of the new structural system. This paper presents the dynamic characteristics, the seismic responses and the failure and collapse mechanism of the two models under low, moderate and high intensity shaking. The test results and further analysis demonstrate that the seismic performance of stepped wall-frame structures is superior to ordinary RC frames in terms of the well-controlled deformation pattern and more uniformly distributed damage. The stepped wall can effectively suppress the bottom yielding mechanism, and is simple, economical and practical tbr engineering practice.

Investigation into dynamic response of regional sites to seismic waves using shaking table testing

This study addresses the changes in acceleration,pore water pressure and Fourier spectrums of different types of seismic waves with various amplitudes via large-scale shaking table tests from two sites:a sand-containing regional site and an all-clay site.Comparative analyses of the test results show that the pore water pressures in sand-soil layers of the regional site initially increase and then decrease as the amplitudes of the seismic accelerations increase.The actions of the vertical and vibrational seismic waves contribute to greater pore water pressures.The amplification coefficient of the sand-layer regional site becomes smaller as the seismic waves grow stronger,so that both sites are capable of filtering high frequencies and amplifying low frequencies of seismic waves.This is more apparent with the increase in the peak value of the acceleration,and the natural vibration frequencies of both sites decrease with the transmission of the seismic waves from the basement to the ground surface.The decreasing frequency value of the sand-containing regional site is smaller than that of the all-clay site.