Bi-directional pseudodynamic test of a full-size three-storey building

The reliability of a Pseudodynamic (PsD) test depends primarily on the accuracy of the control system. Difficulties arise mainly when the method is applied to very stiff or very heavy structures or to structures with a high number of Degrees of Freedom (DoFs). This paper describes the bi-directional PsD testing of a full-size three-storey building. The tested specimen is a composite structure with plan dimensions of 12 × 16m and height of 9·5 m, made of steel columns and beams combined with composite reinforced concrete slabs. The PsD test included the application of two uncorrelated accelerograms along the horizontal directions X and Y. Since the structure was not symmetric about the Y-axis, the possibility of torsion was considered by taking into account both horizontal displacements and the yaw rotation at every floor. Three displacement-controlled hydraulic actuators were thus used at each floor to impose these three DoFs while a fourth actuator with special control strategy was added to optimize the distribution of loads among the pistons. The validity of the testing methodology was verified by performing also a dynamic random burst test on the specimen which was afterwards pseudodynamically reproduced.