Scaled Soil-Structure Interaction Model for Shaking Table Testing

Abstract

The primarily goal of this study is to reveal a scaled soil-structure interaction model for small capacity shaking table testing instead of the full-scale field experiments. The prototype of soil-structure interaction system with frame-type building, resting on a sandy soil with shear wave velocity of 536 m/s and unit weight of 12.9 kN/m(3) has been selected. For experimental investigations, the realistic site and building structures are scaled with a geometric scaling factor of 1:45. The test model, consisting of six-story steel frame-type building, natural soil and laminar soil container, is designed and constructed to realistically simulate the seismic soil-structure interaction effects of building structures in shaking table tests. In order to verify the geometric scaling factor, the dynamic properties of the fixed-base system for both prototype and scaled model are determined by using finite element analysis. Furthermore, the dynamic parameters for scaled model of a single layer soil, restricted with base-rock, have been compared numerically with the proposed laminar soil container, to provide a good agreement.