| Abstract: | The pseudodynamic test method provides a means of inexpensive seismic performance testing for laboratories that do not have a shaking table. However, most pseudodynamic tests to date have used planar portions of structures subjected to a single lateral component of base excitation, mimicking the type of testing that would occur on a shaking table. There has been little work on the extension of the pseudodynamic test method to three-dimensional testing of structures under multiple components of base excitation. In this paper a three-dimensional specimen is tested under a multicomponent fixed base excitation and the response is compared to shaking table tests. The paper presents an overview of the pseudodynamic test method, including non-planar extensions, and highlights many physical problems that occurred during the testing process. Many of these problems apply to any pseudodynamic test, not just non-planar tests, but the results show that very accurate non-planar tests can be achieved with careful error control. |
