Design of a Test-Bed Structure for Shake Table Simulation of the Seismic Performance of Nonstructural Systems

As part of the project entitled "NEESR-GC: Simulation of the Seismic Performance of Nonstructural System," a series of system-level full-scale experiments of ceilings-piping-partition systems will be conducted at the University of Nevada, Reno NEES Site. This project is aimed at understanding the seismic response of these systems and their interaction with each other and the parent structure. A two-story, two-bay steel braced frame spanning across three biaxial shake tables was designed as a Test-Bed structure to simulate a variety of dynamic environments. After introducing the design considerations of the Test-Bed structure within this paper, the method proposed to develop the shake table drive motions is explained. To obtain the drive motion, a transfer function (TF) was formulated for a multi-support dynamic system under differential support excitation and combined with a TF previously developed for target floor acceleration of a generic structure. A suitable high-pass filter was suggested to limit exerted demands on the shake tables.