Shaking table test design to evaluate earthquake capacity of a 3-storey building specimen composed of cast-in-situ concrete walls

This paper presents the work developed to design a shaking-table test at the EUCENTRE Lab, for the evaluation of the maximum capacity of a 3-storey building subjected to earthquake loading. The structural system of the building is composed of cast-in-situ sandwich squat reinforced concrete walls using polystyrene as a support for the concrete. The purpose of this test is to verify the dynamic behavior of this structural typology under earthquake acceleration. Previous to the shaking-table tests carried out at the EUCENTRE Lab, extensive analytical and numerical research was developed on a set of models of the building under seismic input. Also, experimental tests were performed on single r.c. panels subjected to pseudo-static cyclic loading. The structural specimen was a structural system composed of cast-in-situ squat sandwich concrete walls characterized by 5.50 × 4.10 m in plan and 8.25 m in height. The input for the simulation was the Montenegro earthquake of April 1979. The construction of this building was developed outside the laboratory; it was lifted and pulled inside using hydraulic jacks and a roller system. A bracing system was developed to assure the integrity of the structure during the transportation process. This chapter presents some preliminary results of the shaking-table tests.