Design of a large-scale dynamic and pseudo-dynamic testing facility

FUORI CATALOGO

The European Centre for Training and Research in Earthquake Engineering (EUCENTRE) in Pavia hosts a powerful testing facility, which consists of a large-scale dynamic and pseudo-dynamic apparatus. This report describes in detail the design of both these devices. In the first part, the design of the high-performance uniaxial shaking table is presented. The main components of the facility are introduced and a description of the structural and mechanical configuration of the shaking table is given. The design of the system restraining the table motion then follows, together with a detailed discussion of the solutions adopted for both the reaction mass and isolation system. Finally, the numerical verifications carried out to evaluate the dynamic response of this testing device as well as its design optimisation are illustrated. The second section of this manuscript focuses instead in the design of the pseudo-dynamic testing facility. The structural configuration of both the strong floor and the L-shaped reaction walls is firstly provided, after which the design of the post-tensioning and foundation systems is presented. A succinct description of the servo-hydraulic actuators and piping system for the distribution of the pressurised oil is also given. The final fraction of the report addresses the problem of the soil-structure interaction for both shaking table and pseudo-dynamic testing systems. It starts with the definition of the dynamic properties of the foundation soil, which are then used in the evaluation of the static vertical settlement of the two testing rigs, and then follows up with a description of the dynamic interaction, triggered by the shaking table motion, between the soil, foundation and superstructure systems.